January 22nd SHOULD have been the 50th Anniversary of Roe v Wade legislation.
But SCOTUS made sure that Roe was overturned last June with the Dobbs’ Decision.
After a solemn week of events to commemorate what should have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade.
People held events in the streets, online, and as fundraisers to continue to promote awareness of the issues and continue the work.
The National Mobilization was in Madison, WI, with sister marches in all the major cities to commemorate the event.
Planned parenthood went into partnership with the Women’s March and others to organize and fund events with speakers and support marches in the streets.
We came together in solidarity to mourn the loss of nearly 50 years of constitutional protections.
Some took to the streets while others held fundraisers, shared stories, and took action together to fight back.
We sent a clear message on January 22, 2023, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
We are not defeated
We are not going gently
Women are rising, and we are on the march!
We are taking our fight to every state house and every state legislator in this country.
We are putting all politicians at every level of government on notice: If you come for our families, our freedoms, or our future, we are coming for your seat.
Our movement is strong
Our movement is growing
Our movement is #BiggerThanRoe
Live Music Fundraiser in Santa Monica
One example of a smaller event was a home live music fundraiser hosted by the lovely Sarah Van Berkum in Santa Monica area of Los Angeles.
I had the pleasure to spend the afternoon with a group of very talented musicians, artisans, and generous friends who gave of their time, gifts, and donations.
The day was a lovely afternoon on a crisp chilly, but sunny day.
We gathered in solemn but determined commemoration of the anniversary of Roe v Wade.
The day was a fundraiser to benefit the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP).
WRRAP is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization assisting women who are financially unable to pay for safe, legal abortions or emergency contraceptives.
WRRAP works directly with pre-qualified, reputable reproductive health clinics across the U.S. on behalf of the person in need.
WRRAP does not demand repayment of the funds.
Such a worthy cause. If you would like to donate to WRRAP to support their work, here is a link to their donation page.
Grannies Zoom Event
The Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights held an online event on Zoom Thursday, January 26th to highlight some of their pre-Roe era stories.
We must never forget the peril and loss that women endured before Roe was established as the law of the land in 1973.
Brave women, many of whom have held these secrets for years are now speaking out to help with awareness about the issue.
Four brave women shared their Pre-Roe era stories.
Sue Perlgut, Bonnie Brady, Susan Quackenbush, and Diane Therol Chaffin discussed their darkest memories of the time they had to seek illegal abortions before Roe v Wade protected these rights.
You can read transcripts and/or view video renditions of their stories if you missed the event:
The GRR! event ended with calls to action to donate to the GRR! Project:
In addition to telling pre-Roe era stories, these Grannies are doing other important work educating the public in various ways.
Leveraging their status of grandmothers and elders as sources of truth and safety, GRR! supports younger generations in accessing accurate information when seeking sexual and reproductive health care free of shame, coercion, and misinformation.
We will feature some of their other activities in future posts, but we want to highlight the great work they are doing exposing the horrible crisis pregnancy centers with their ROE program.
GRR!’s Reproductive Options Exist (ROE)
GRR!’s Reproductive Options Exist (ROE) exposes the deceitful tactics and lies anti-abortion centers (AACs) promote and exposes AAC’s true agenda to end abortion access and care.
We have highlighted anti-abortion centers before in a previous RePro Roe-D-O post.
Anti-abortion centers, often called crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), are organizations that exist to talk people out of having abortions.
They do this by spreading misinformation about abortion and vilifying the people who have them and perform them.
These centers have an agenda for your pregnancy.
But the Grannies are standing up to fight for us by:
Calling out Anti-Abortion Clinics
Clearing Access to Real clinics
Fact-Based Support Giving
The Grannies also plugged two other very important organizations: Abortion Justice Action Plan by All Above All, and Act for Women, who is championing the Women’s Health Protection Act.
Abortion Justice Action Plan
All Above All has drafted the “Abortion Justice Action Plan” that the Grannies have adopted.
The main components of the Action Plan are:
- Abortion care is available without hurdles or stigma for people of color working to make ends meet, young folks, LGBTQ, and gender nonconforming people.
- Abortion care is available, affordable, and accessible for immigrants of any documentation status without fear of deportation, detention, or harm to their own or their family’s immigration process.
- Abortion care is available in the communities where we live.
- Abortion care, especially medication abortion and telehealth, is provided in ways that are comfortable, secure, and makes sense for patients.
- Abortion care is affordable and covered by all public and private health insurance plans.
Women’s Health Protection Act
The second organization that the Grannies plugged was Act for Women.org, which is working on Equal Access to Abortion, Everywhere.
The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) is federal legislation that would protect the right to access abortion in every U.S. state.
Equal access to abortion care—everywhere—is essential for social and economic equality, reproductive autonomy, and the right to determine our own lives.
On May 11, the U.S. Senate took its second 2022 vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act, falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster.
Use the form on their website to email your Congresspeople to move this forward!
