'We are going back 50 years': Protesters in favor of abortion rights rally in downtown Stockton
Protesters gathered in downtown Stockton in support of abortion rights on Saturday, May 7 in the aftermath of the leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion of Roe v. Wade.
“We have to fight for this again. I’ve been fighting for the right to abortion since I was 12 years old, and the possibility of it going away is outrageous for this country,” Stockton resident Susan Christy, 59, said.
The draft opinion published by Politico, a politics-specialized news site, indicated the court would vote to strike down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case establishing abortion as a constitutional right.
In Stockton, 20 people gathered by 12:20 p.m. and that count grew near 40 about an hour later.
“I never would have thought when I was 12 that I would be out here by my 60th birthday discussing this (abortion rights) again,” Christy said.
“I am a feminist and have been fighting for women's rights (since) the 70s, and I cannot believe that we are going back 50 years,” Stockton resident Jo Bailey, 67, said. “I believe that abortion rights are women’s health rights.”
A younger generation of feminists was also present at the street rally, chanting at the community that drove by.
Nicole Nunez-Rivera, 16, said she was protesting because of “the stupidity of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the (opinion) draft in general, and the fact that it’s 2022 and we still have to protest (in favor of) human rights.”
The potential overturn of Roe v. Wade, as presented in the leaked SCOTUS opinion, “it’s an extension of patriarchy, it’s an attack not just on reproductive rights but on women’s rights all together,” local organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation Central Valley branch Firoz Azizi, 24, said.
“We are out here because we need to take to the streets,” Azizi said. “This country is not going to change unless we get out here and we organize.”
“Not everybody is ready to be a mother,” Cristy said. “They (Supreme Court, non-supporters of abortion) are not holding the fathers responsible here, they are putting the entire onus on the woman if she accidentally gets pregnant, has a health problem or is raped. There are all kinds of reasons for having access to safe abortions.”
“We need a system that puts people over profits, and this ties into the issue of abortion,” Azizi said. “Many women who get abortions are people in poor communities; they are people of color and it affects them disproportionately.”
Nunez-Rivera advised the community to “educate yourself on the importance (of abortion) and on what’s right, support and listen to the community, learn how to get involved and to help out.”
Record reporter Laura Diaz covers social justice and societal issues. She can be reached at ldiaz@recordnet.com or on Twitter @laurasdiaz_. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stocktonians gather downtown to protest in favor of abortion rights
