'Stand up and fight back': Abortion rights protest spills across downtown Asheville
ASHEVILLE - It's not a new fight that brought more than 200 people to Pritchard Park in the heart of downtown, but it's one that many hoped would not have to be fought again.
A leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion, published by Politico on May 2, suggested the court is considering a decision that would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
For many abortion rights advocates, it wasn't a surprise.
"(We) have been sounding the alarm for months," said Molly Rivera, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which has a health center in Asheville.
"We knew this was coming. All signs pointed to the Supreme Court taking away a person’s rights to have an abortion. But to see it on paper like this is still overwhelming.”
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Like many, she said Planned Parenthood is ready to channel its anger and frustration into action.
Surrounding the brick plaza of Pritchard Park on May 3, protestors hefted signs and banners. At the crowd's center was an amp and a microphone where people could share their stores.
People spoke about their abortions, some through tears. Others were confident and assured.
"I had two," said one speaker. "No regrets, no shame." But it was a decision that allowed her to have a child when she was ready. A child that was waiting for her on the brick steps of the plaza when she was done at the mic.
After, she said it was the first time she'd spoken the words out loud.
When an attendee asked who knew someone who had experienced an abortion, almost everyone in the crowd raised their hand.
Diana Murray was 18 when she had an abortion. It was 1977. She said she's been fighting this fight for a long time and now, "I don't even know what to do."
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"It’s scary, it’s sickening. It’s beyond anything," she said of the potential reversal. "And I don’t know if this is going to change anything, but I hope that it does. I hope that it will."
A grassroots effort, more than one group was behind the Pritchard Park protest. Among the organizers was the Asheville branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
One member of the organization, Claire Clark, echoed a concern of many — that any rollback of rights would not stop with reproductive rights.
A "vital issue," she said abortion rights do not just impact women, but everyone who can become pregnant — including transgender men, nonbinary and genderqueer people.
As a trans woman, Clark said she was terrified to think what would come next. Though she said "the writing was on the wall," she still hoped it would not come to this.
"But it has. So we have to stand up and fight back," she said.
“If women, trans men and nonbinary and genderqueer folks who need abortion services are not allowed to control their bodies, their reproductive processes, what does that mean for people like me? Will the court stand up for us? Absolutely not. We know what’s coming.”
'We are ready for the fight'
Rivera said though the leaked opinion landed a blow that has left many "confused, frustrated and scared," she reminds people that the opinion is only a draft and that today, abortion remains safe and legal in North Carolina, including for folks in Asheville.
If the opinion is what the nation's highest court actually hands down, it would represent a profound change in how reproductive rights have been understood in the United States for decades, experts say. Such an outcome would largely turn abortion over to individual states, about half of which are expected to ban or place severe limitations on the procedure, according to reporting from USA TODAY.
“We and our partners have been preparing for this outcome, and we are ready for the fight, and we will continue to fight like hell to protect the right to access safe and legal abortions," Rivera said.
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With more than 70,000 visits in 2021, the PPSAT, which has 14 locations across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, offers other services than abortions — such as reproductive health care, birth control, pap smears, breast exams and other cancer screenings, STI tests and treatment and gender-affirming hormone treatments.
If Roe v. Wade were overturned, Rivera said the doors would stay open. A critical resource for those seeking abortions, she said it would be dedicated to helping patients "navigate this reality."
“It really does mark a turning point, not only for the political fight, but for health care. We definitely are preparing for that. Once the decision becomes final, we will have more resources and information for people seeking abortions," Rivera said.
“Planned Parenthood and our partners will be here to help folks learn information, to empower them to make their own health care decision and help make sure they can retain the right to control their body and decide their future.”
According to reporting from USA TODAY, if the case is overturned, abortion will not immediately become illegal in North Carolina.
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An abortion ban could happen next year, depending on the outcome of the 2022 elections, both supporters and opponents of abortion rights said in interviews last week with the USA TODAY Network.
This tied into another refrain of the protests and abortion advocates: Vote.
“It’s worth noting that for North Carolina, especially, everything hinges on the 2022 elections this fall," Rivera said. "This year, reproductive freedom is absolutely on the ballot and the future of abortion access, not only for Carolinians, but probably the entire south east region is on the line here, in our state.”
Marie Germain, a lead organizer of the Women's March on Asheville, said she was "horrified" to hear the news.
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Though nothing is solidified, she said if the Supreme Court continues to affirm its intention to overturn Roe v. Wade, the group may organize a rally to synch with the national Women's March on May 14.
If overturned, she said consequences would be "devastating," with disparities worsened for people of color and young people, particularly those in Republican-controlled states that will immediately restrict or outlaw abortion.
"Thousands of women may have to cross state lines to get an abortion," Germain said. "Possibly worse even: they may resort to dangerous medical interventions, those we thought were fossilized after 1973."
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Hundreds of abortion rights protesters gather in downtown Asheville
