At Green Bay march, speakers urge supporters of Roe v. Wade to turn out at the polls
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GREEN BAY – Democrats speaking at a rally Sunday in Green Bay sought to turn anxiety about the potential for a renewed ban on abortions into votes for their party in the fall.
They were among speakers outside the Brown County Courthouse who came out to stump for local and state candidates who support the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that is now under threat. They were reacting to the leaked draft of a majority opinion written by Associate Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe, effectively leaving the legality of abortion up to states.
Wisconsin has an abortion ban on the books that would take effect if the conservative majority of the Supreme Court reverses the decision from 1973.
"We're fighting for a future that works for the many rather than the few," state Rep. Kristina Shelton, D-Green Bay, said from the steps on the south side of the courthouse. Supporters of abortion rights "need to turn their anger" about the contents of the opinion into "turnout in record numbers" at the polls in November, she said.
Shelton is among state lawmakers whose seats in the Legislature are up for election this fall.
Kristin Lyerly, an obstetrician and gynecologist who performs abortions, was one of the people speaking Sunday who noted that before Roe, Wisconsin had outlawed abortion as early as 1849.
That's what prompted about 150 people to rally Sunday afternoon at Leicht Memorial Park on the west shore of the Fox River, then march as a group along the river's opposite shore and down the street to the courthouse.
Unlike demonstrations held elsewhere in the past week, Sunday's rally did not deteriorate into shouting matches between Roe supporters and abortion opponents. A handful of Green Bay police officers assigned to handle traffic and crowd control, if necessary, waited nearby and occasionally chatted with rally-goers.
Many of the marchers carried signs with messages such as "My body, my choice" — that chant broke out repeatedly as the group walked, then became louder once the participants had assembled on the courthouse steps.
Several speakers pointed out, in interviews after the rally, that northeastern Wisconsin is known as a region with strongly conservative beliefs; Shelton was the rare Democrat from the Green Bay area to win state office. State Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, and Reps. John Macco, R-Ledgeview, and Shae Sortwell, R-Gibson, all have been vocal during previous campaigns about opposing Roe and abortion rights.
Jane Benson, a Suamico Democrat running for the 89th Assembly District seat now held by Republican Elija Behnke of Oconto, said the issue comes down to three yes-or-no questions for women: Do you want reproductive control over your own body, the freedom to plan your own family, and sexual privacy? A "yes" answer to those questions, she said, is a reason to support Democratic candidates for state office.
More: Wisconsin abortions declined 60% in three decades, new report shows
Contact Doug Schneider at (920) 431-8333, or DSchneid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PGDougSchneider.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Speakers at Green Bay rally urge supporters of Roe v. Wade to vote
