'We are here. We are the majority': Hundreds rally in support of abortion rights after Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade
ASHWAUBENON - Over 300 people rallied for abortion rights Sunday evening on Oneida Street across from Lambeau Field with a simple message.
“Our message is: We are here. We are the majority. We will not stop disturbing the peace and making it known that we are the majority until we are listened to, until we are truly and genuinely heard, until our democracy becomes a true democracy,” said 23-year-old Adrianna Pokela of Green Bay.
The rally was organized by Women's Rights Green Bay, a group led by Pokela and her friend and co-organizer Abbey White, in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Polls continue to show that a majority of Wisconsinites support abortion rights. A new Marquette Law School Poll survey this month found that 58% of Wisconsin voters think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 35% think it should be illegal in all or most cases.
The rally follows the court's decision to strike down Roe v. Wade, a 1973 ruling that state regulation of abortion was a violation of a woman's right to privacy and therefore unconstitutional. In effect, it made abortion legal nationwide in the first trimester, with some regulation allowed gradually into the second and third trimesters.
Following the court's decision on June 24, Wisconsin doctors immediately stopped providing abortions due to legal uncertainties regarding whether an 1849 state law is back in effect. The law bans doctors from performing abortions except when saving the life of the mother. Those in Wisconsin seeking abortions can still do so legally in Illinois and Minnesota.
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For Pokela, advocating for abortion rights is personal.
She had an abortion when she was in an abusive relationship, a decision that saved her life, she said. Without an abortion, she said her abusive partner would have ended her life, or she would have considered it herself.
With her experience in mind, Pokela said she expects the statistics of suicide and domestic murder to go up significantly because of the ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.
A study published in 2021 found that pregnant women in the United States die by homicide more often than they die of pregnancy-related causes, and they’re frequently killed by a partner.
Now, Pokela is using this concern and her past experience to fuel her present fight for reproductive rights. She led chants throughout the three hours of Sunday's rally from 5 to 8 p.m. and also a march around the block at about 6:30 p.m.
People of all ages and backgrounds from across Green Bay and northeast Wisconsin came out to join her.
Perla Rodriguez and Jaquan Harris, both longtime Green Bay residents, came to the rally with their 9-month-old son and 2-year-old daughter.
The couple emphasized several difficult scenarios in which they think a woman should have a choice in whether to bring a child into the world. Some examples include when the woman, or young girl, is a victim of rape, doesn't have sufficient resources to raise a kid, or is not mentally prepared to have a child.
Looking to the future, the couple said they will continue to protest and vote in upcoming elections. "People have to stick together. This is about women, but it’s not only their fight. This is our fight, and we have to stand up to the corrupt government that I feel doesn’t care about us," said Harris.
Emily Tracey, a 30-year-old member of the LGBTQ+ community and longtime Green Bay resident, said she is sick of the government deciding what people do with their bodies and lives. She also said she is afraid of what rights could be taken away next, including her right to get married one day.
"There are so many other foundational rights that the federal government has given us, and people don’t understand that giving it to the states is what’s going to cause more limitations, more restrictions to our rights," Tracey said.
She added that she will not stop until she's turned as many heads and opened as many minds as she can.
Judy and Steve Menard, both retirees from Shawano and longtime protesters, came to the rally to show support for others asserting their right to a safe abortion, including their three daughters.
"We've already lost majority rule in this country," said Steve, a former lawyer. "And that's just going to get worse as long as they keep repressing people's right to vote."
He added that ensuring voting rights is a crucial next step in restoring majority rule.
According to Pokela, working toward voter registration and educating people on the voting process and politics in general is exactly what she and White intend to do.
"We're trying to take big steps in educating in a more simple sense, so that everybody and anybody can understand what's going on," Pokela said. "And I think that will help significantly in encouraging people to vote."
Contact Kelly Smits at (920) 431-3632 or ksmits@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kellymsmits.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Protest draws hundreds in support of abortion rights in Green Bay
