Hundreds rally in ABQ against Supreme Court decision overturning Roe V. Wade

Jun. 24—Less than 12 hours after the Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, hundreds of people gathered at Tiguex Park, near Old Town, in protest.

The crowd — a mix of old and young, alone, in groups and with their families — waved homemade signs and wore shirts with slogans supporting abortion rights. While the music and the mood was generally up-beat, participants sitting on the grass before the event expressed deep feelings of anger and sadness.

For Alix King, the Supreme Court decision was personal. She said that, when she was 13 — in Texas in 1965 — she almost died from an illegal attempted abortion.

"I just can't believe the Supreme Court is rolling back constitutional rights," King said. "That's historical, that's terrifying."

Bonnie Buntjer, who attended the rally with her granddaughter Isa Nellos, said she protested 50 years ago and there was "no way" she thought she'd ever need to protest in support of abortion rights again.

"I feel chills. I'm impressed by how many people are out here," Nellos said. "I'm also here to support my grandmother and support my own future."

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham — wearing "pink for power, baby" — kicked off the event.

"We've been doing this for all of our lifetimes," Lujan Grisham said, "You name an issue about equal rights, and we've done this before, again and again and again. And I could be mad — OK, I'm really mad. Let the anger motivate you, it's an anger worth having."

The 'We won't go back — Bans off our Bodies' rally mirrors hundreds across the country as supporters of abortion rights took to the streets in reaction to the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, announced Friday morning. Protests were also planned for Taos and Las Cruces.

Also speaking at the rally were Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-NM; Smita Carroll, an abortion provider; and representatives from Equality New Mexico, the NM Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, the Black Voters Collaborative, and more.

As soon as local advocates for abortion rights heard about the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade Friday morning, they got to work.

Samia Assed, one of the co-organizers with the New Mexico Women's March, was drinking her coffee and reading the news online — planning to have a nice day with her children. Instead, she and others spent the day planning a "rapid response" rally.

"We were expecting it, but it's still surreal," Assed said.

Assed, who has been working on civil rights issues for 17 years, said that, while overturning the right to an abortion once seemed "far-fetched," it has appeared more and more likely since 2016 when Donald Trump was elected president.

"Abortion rights hits different because it hits a segment of the population that thought this would never be seen again in America," Assed said. "We thought we had won this since 1973 and it seems like we want to go back to the Dark Ages."

Lisa Padilla, manager of public affairs for Planned Parenthood who also co-chairs the New Mexico Women's March, said that, in some ways, the news has been energizing. New Mexico lawmakers repealed a state law last year that made it a crime to end a woman's pregnancy, but the right to an abortion is not enshrined in state law.

"I mean, on the one hand, it's devastating to think about having our rights as women taken away," she said. "On the other hand, I think maybe this is what it's going to take in order to get it codified as a right. And so I'm trying my best to be positive the best I can."

Over at the headquarters of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, activists gathered Friday afternoon to make signs for the night's rally. The group was going to protest in front of the courthouse, but decided to join the protest at Tiguex Park.

Bex Hampton said she and others called in to work and spent the day organizing instead.

"The news is an ... absolute outrage. The Supreme Court is eviscerating abortion rights — that is women's rights and all people who can have an abortion ... ," Hampton said. "For us, we're saying we need to be in the streets right now, building a mass movement to re-secure our rights."