Protesters for abortion rights gather on Saugatuck River Bridge
In response to the Texas abortion ban and subsequent Supreme Court ruling, protesters yelled chants such as “my body, my choice” and “we won’t go back” throughout the rally.
A pro-choice abortion rights rally took place Saturday afternoon, Oct. 2, at Saugatuck River Bridge. People from all different backgrounds, including Staples students, gathered on the sidewalks of the bridge with signs, while others drove by honking in support.
Protesters assembled in disagreement with Texas’s prohibition of most abortions past six weeks of conception.
The Supreme Court upheld the Texas law despite criticism that it contradicts the Roe v. Wade precedent. The Roe v. Wade ruling protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.
“This is a protest to support the people in Texas that are having to deal with the laws being changed around abortion and just in general vouching for abortion to be a right in America,” Paige Toglia ’22 said.
These developments in Texas’s state laws have prompted action in the more permissive Northeast. This rally is one of many that have been taking place all over the country, including a previous one in Westport on Sept. 5.
“It shows our town is rallying behind all these women who are facing possible attacks against their basic human rights,” Kate Davitt ’22 said.
This protest, along with others, could have an impact at the federal level. If more states enact restrictive laws on abortions, the Supreme Court could be faced with other rulings, significant for the future of abortion rights in the U.S.
“We are behind all these other women,” Davitt said. “And we believe Roe v. Wade should still remain a precedent.”
