Las Cruces abortion rights supporters gather to share stories, community
LAS CRUCES - Carolyn Wilkins demonstrated for abortion rights in the early 1970s, against the wishes of her family, she said, and was elated when the 1973 Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that women had a right to legal abortion.
On Friday, the 2022 Supreme Court ruled the U.S. Constitution did not uphold a woman's right to abortion, essentially leaving the decision on whether it was legal to each state.
Wilkins, now a reverend and clergy engagement for New Mexico CAFé (Comunidades en Accion y Fé), took the mic once more to advocate for abortion rights as a speaker in the Bans Off Las Cruces event held Friday at Pioneer Women's Park.
"I thought that we would make a difference and they would have a state hold," she told those who gathered at the park. "I just never would have anticipated that 50 years later, it would be taken down."
More:New Mexico governor says Supreme Court overturning Roe part of a 'war on women'
Wilkins ended her speech with the Martin Luther King Jr. quote, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that."
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Bold Futures, and other groups supporting abortion rights organized the event in an effort to encourage community members of all ages to express their sentiments over the SCOTUS decision.
"They need a place together to express themselves, to share in community and to know that they're not alone when they're going through this," said Kat Sánchez, of Bold Futures NM.
Sanchez reminded people to take care of themselves.
"We are inundated all the time with decisions that are impacting us in different ways, as people of color, as queer people, as people who have uteruses and self care on itself it's incredibly important," she said.
In 2021, the New Mexico Legislature repealed a ban on abortions to ensure it would remain legal in this state if Roe fell. Twenty-two states, including neighboring Arizona and Texas, have laws that could be used to restrict the legal status of abortion once Roe was reversed.
More:Abortion legal in New Mexico, though it's not a right like in other states
Several elected officials — including state Sen. Carrie Hamblen and State Rep. Joanne Ferrary — spoke at Friday's demonstration in the park, encouraging residents to take action by voting.
The mic was passed around to anyone who wanted to speak and several shed tears while sharing their stories, including a woman who said she had an abortion illegally before Roe v. Wade, a mother with her 11-month-old strapped to her body talking about a post-Roe world for her daughter, and a transgender man who feared what the conservative-leaning Supreme Court might rule on next.
Event organizers encouraged attendees to sit down at a table within the park and write meaningful and positive messages to abortion providers and those seeking abortions.
Annya Loya is a general assignment reporter and can be reached at aloyaorduno@lcsun-news.com or @annyaloya on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces abortion rights supporters gather to share stories, community
