Hundreds rally for pro-choice legislation Saturday in downtown St. Cloud
ST. CLOUD — About 300 people of all ages marched for reproductive rights Saturday morning in downtown St. Cloud, walking from Lake George to the Stearns County courthouse.
Some carried homemade signs with messages like, "I'm a woman, not a womb," "My body, my choice" and "Keep abortion legal." Others took their children or their dogs and shared stories about their own experiences with sexual assault, domestic violence, miscarriage and abortion.
There were no counter-protestors at the event.
Around the state and nation thousands of women and supporters joined in solidarity Saturday for an annual Women's March, including in St. Paul.
The local group met at Lake George before marching to the courthouse, met with honks of support from drivers passing by.
More: Central Minnesotans tell their stories, react to possibility Roe v. Wade could be overturned
'You don't know everyone's story'
St. Cloud resident Karen Nielsen said she grew up during a time when abortions were illegal, which is why she wanted to protest Saturday.
"Women had to go to butchers to get care," she said. "And I mean how many people died? I just, I will not go back. I had an insight last night that maybe it's time to start praying for the men to be healed so that they stop the oppression and violence against women on the Earth. I don't know what else to do other than show up and say this is wrong."
St. Cloud Community Technical College student Cassie Larsen said she was at the rally because she believes abortion should be a right for every woman. She said sitting at home and getting into arguments with others on Facebook doesn't change anything, so she wanted to demonstrate that there is power in numbers.
"I just think it's unfair to try and regulate everyone the same when you don't know everyone's circumstances," Larsen said. "Everyone has a different situation, and that's why it should be a choice."
Amy and Andy Willette said they drove about an hour from St. Louis Park to St. Cloud Saturday morning to show their support. The two are alums of St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict's, respectively, "so this is kind of our area too," Amy said.
"I think St. Cloud really needs a little support. I think the progressives here maybe need a little boost," she said.
"Knowing that (Brett Kavanaugh's) on the Supreme Court and he's been credibly accused of sexual violence is just out of whack," Andy said.
"We're going the wrong direction," Amy said. "We have got to get these guys."
'We're going to rise up and fight back with every fiber in our bodies'
Many at the rally brought up concerns about how the potential reversal of Roe v. Wade might open the door for future legislation to ban contraception, same-sex marriage, interracial marriage and limit the rights of transgender Americans, among others.
More: From LGBTQ rights to interracial marriage, abortion ruling could be map for GOP's next push
"We will not go home. We're going to fight to the death," said Jane Conrad into a megaphone, met with cheers from the crowd. "And before we die, we're going to teach our daughters how to fight. And our sons how to fight. We're going to rise up and fight back with every fiber in our bodies."
Other speakers encouraged women to run for office and emphasized the importance of voting in the next election.
"As I laid in my bed trying to write the speech this morning, I kept thinking about the notion that initially got me involved with activism and politics. The notion that no one's coming," said Chantal Oechsle, the vice chairwoman of Senate District 14. "We elected officials outright, and the government is failing to protect the most basic autonomy of people with uteruses. Eventually others will catch on, as we saw (with the honks of support) on the highway. We're not the minority. And they, too, will no longer be able to stay silent. And then we're gonna organize like we did today. And look at you! We're not alone, and there's power in numbers. And thank you so much for being brave and coming here today. I promise the first step is the hardest."
For the next 40 minutes people from the crowd walked up the steps of the courthouse and shared their own stories of miscarriage, still birth, abusive relationships, abortion care and loss.
Some said if they or their loved ones had not received abortion care they would likely have died following their miscarriages. Others talked about the fear and anger they've experienced thinking about their children and daughters who might lose the right to an abortion, even if they were raped, were too young to give birth safely or were too young to even go on birth control to begin with.
A couple people talked about how they didn't regret their abortions after getting pregnant unexpectedly or after their birth control measures failed. One woman said she drove more than 300 miles to get an abortion when she got pregnant in Missouri.
More talked about the deep loss they experienced after having a miscarriage or losing a baby and said they thought the pregnant person and their support system should be the people to make those choices, not the government.
"I am ready to fight for you. I am ready to say that this is not about abortion, this is about control," said Alissa Brickman, who announced her candidacy for House District 13. "I believe that women can make very thoughtful, deep, hard choices about their own bodies. And if we don't have bodily autonomy, what do we have? Who are we? We are not less than. We are people who have done the hard work. Are you ready to go backwards? No, I want my daughter to have the same rights or even more rights than I have."
Becca Most is a cities reporter with the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-241-8213 or bmost@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter at @becca_most.
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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Hundreds rally for pro-choice legislation in St. Cloud
