After six weeks in Texas, the abortion ban procedures and its implications on the reproductive rights of women in the U.S. have sparked outrage among pro-choice groups nationwide.
“We won’t go back, we will fight back,” echoed hundreds, if not thousands, of voices in Boston, Massachusetts’ Franklin Park, mid-Saturday, October 2. Gathered together in retaliation of the recent political attacks on abortion freedom in the United States, the pro-choice rally featured notable speakers, including: MA Attorney General Maura Healey, U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley, and U.S. Senator Ed Markey.
The rally occurred in response to Texas Governor, Greg Abbott’s bill signed back in May of this year, which, according to the Texas Tribune, made it illegal for people to receive abortions past the six-week mark in the span of a pregnancy. This bill has received much pushback since its passing, with pro-choice groups noting that abortion is a major necessary component of reproductive healthcare, allowing people the choice to decide whether or not to have a child and can also be a factor between life and death in certain pregnancies with complications.
The rally also formed in anticipation of the United States Supreme Court’s new term, which opened the following Monday. According to Reuters, the nine month-long term will pose cases that hold the potential to “overturn abortion rights.” Democratic faith in the Justice’s future rulings is low, as the court currently consists of “six conservatives and three liberals.” Back in May, the court ruled “5-4 decision “ not to block the Texas abortion ban after six weeks.
The rally largely focused on the importance of defending abortion as a choice in reproductive healthcare and the continued support of resources, such as: Planned Parenthood, which provide safe and affordable healthcare to marginalized groups. During her speech, Pressley noted,
“Restricting access doesn’t mean that people will stop having abortions. It means they will stop having safe, legal abortions.”
Boston is not the only city “fighting back,” rallies and marches occurred nationwide over the weekend. According to Aljazeera, 660 demonstrations in the United States occurred on Saturday, Oct. 2.
The growing restrictions on women’s reproductive rights in the U.S. have led many to question the integrity of our modern-day government. Common rhetoric seen in the signs and sentiments expressed during the rally revolved around the notion of the “bad old days,” alluding to days pre-Roe v. Wade 1973, in which abortion in the U.S. was not federally decriminalized. The legalization of Abortion in 1973 is still regarded as one of the most important feminist and pro-choice achievements in American history and for many, the threat of overturning the decision that many thought would last for centuries, if not ‘forever,’ is almost unfathomable. Although threatening to quality of life and healthcare of the modern-day American citizen, the chant reverberated throughout the pro-choice movement, “We won’t go back, we will fight back,” confirms that modern women, trans, and non-binary folks will not sit idly by as lawmakers attempt to take the freedom of choice over their own bodies.
