Sault activists plan reproductive rights walk, petition rally for Saturday
SAULT STE. MARIE — With the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned nationally, activists across Michigan are signing petitions, making plans and drawing awareness to reproductive rights.
Several Sault locals are showing their support for this cause by participating in a walk and petition signing for reproductive freedom in downtown Sault Ste. Marie this weekend.
A Michigan-based group called Reproductive Freedom for All has started a statewide petition that, if successful, will force the State of Michigan to introduce the repeal to a 1931 state law that outlaws abortion.
Under the Michigan law, women who have abortions could face four years in prison while doctors who perform abortions could face up to 15 years in prison. The law makes no exceptions for women who become pregnant by rape or incest. The repeal of the state law would remove any legal penalties for abortions performed for any reason.
The pro-choice activists who are organizing this petition believe women shouldn't have to have painful excuses such as rape or a medical emergency to make a choice to have an abortion.
"I 100 percent should have the right to my reproductive freedom and privacy without political interference, period," said event organizer Jonelle Cooper. "I shouldn't have to have a sad story, I shouldn't have to have to share my story with you, I shouldn't have to plead my case."
Cooper has been a women's rights activist for more than half her life, and has marched for reproductive rights and other causes in the past. Cooper is one of the certified petition organizers for the cause, meaning she is one of the only people who can collect signatures for this petition.
Cooper said she hopes that by hosting the walk she can raise awareness for the issue and earn signatures along the walk. Cooper added she is confident that she and other petitioners in other counties will get the signatures required because recently polls show that around 60 percent of adults support pro-choice laws.
"It's always been frowned upon and looked at as only a form of birth control when it's much greater than that. Overturning Roe versus Wade is only going to create a trickling effect in our rights being taken away and stripped one by one," Cooper said. "It's not political, this is not religious, this is the right to reproductive freedom and privacy. It's really that simple."
Petitioners have to be at least 18 years old and registered to vote in Chippewa County to sign. The walk begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 14 on the East Portage Avenue bridge and ends on the West Portage Avenue bridge.
Anyone who is not able to attend the walk but still wishes to sign the petition can contact Cooper at j_coop@hotmail.com. For more information on this or other petitions across the state, visit the organization's website.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Sault activists plan reproductive rights walk, petition rally
