Students organize 'Thursday nights for human rights' in Menomonee Falls to protest for abortion rights
When Menomonee Falls High School senior William Gottemoller saw women's reactions to the news that Roe v. Wade had been overturned, he decided to organize rallies for the cause.
"I saw people crying and being very emotional," he said. "I don't have the insight, being a man, and I don't have the experience, but I can see it as a very personal issue."
"This is a potent issue that affects every single person to the core," he added.
After posting information with the goal of starting a rally on social media, Gottemoller, 17, heard from seven other students from Germantown and Menomonee Falls who wanted to help coordinate the rallies.
More: 'A galvanizing moment': The fight for abortion rights goes local in state elections
Now, the students hold weekly rallies, "Thursday nights for human rights," to speak up for abortion rights.
All are welcome. Participants are encouraged to bring signs and to meet at Four Corners, at Appleton and Main streets in Menomonee Falls. The protests are scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m. every Thursday.
Gottemoller said the plan is to protest at least until the end of the summer, and to try to continue until the November elections, but that will depend on people's schedules.
The first rally, on June 30, had 250 participants, most of them students. The July 7 rally had about 100 participants; that event had more parents and nonstudents, Gottemoeller said.
One of the main points of the rallies is to increase voter turnout and awareness that everyone is affected by reproductive rights, he said.
'We rigidly adhere to nonviolence'
Rally organizers are emphatic that the rallies are to be nonviolent. Organizers tell participants not to respond to people who disagree with them.
"We rigidly adhere to nonviolence," he said. "We tell people to please ignore the counterprotesters. We say that the counterprotesters only want to make you look bad."
"Our protests are very positive," Gottemoller said. "We are students. We don't want to get in trouble."
'Important to see how many people are affected'
Gottemoller maintained that if an issue affects every woman, then it affects everyone. "It can affect a 70-year-old male, as they may have a daughter or a caregiver that may become pregnant," he explained.
Another organizer, Kylie Kenny, a recent graduate of Menomonee Falls High School, echoed how important it is for "fellow protesters and the public to see how many people are affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade."
"When you take the power away from someone that was born a woman, you are telling them that their life is less valuable than a fetus," she said. She also said that rally organizers have registered a few people to vote.
She also said it is important to spread the message on the importance of voting, especially to the younger generation.
"Without voting, we won't receive the change we're fighting for," she said.
Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Students organize rallies for abortion rights in Menomonee Falls
