What brings you to the march today, and why do you think this is so important?
It’s really kind of painful for me to think about this. I worked in a clinic in ’73, ’74, ’75, and ’76, and it’s just horrifying to think that those clinics cannot provide not just the procedure itself when needed, but also Planned Parenthood has been, for many people, the only healthcare they see.
Abortion is healthcare, and it should be free and accessible to everyone.
It shouldn’t be taken away by a politician.
Women should have access to safe and affordable care.
To have that kind of ban in Wisconsin, first of all, isn’t reflective of our values anyway because nobody made the decision to get that law back into place. It was a trigger ban that should have been ruled unconstitutional a long time ago, but it just wasn’t because our legislators didn’t take action.
You can’t restrict abortion; you can restrict safe abortion, but abortion is still going to happen, and it just gets unsafe at that point.
I know people personally who have had to travel out of state since the abortion ban, and how that ruined them financially and caused them to lose jobs.
It puts women of lower income at a greater risk of harm, jeopardizing themselves and doing what could be a safe procedure. It instills fear in the population, especially in those who are most vulnerable, like pregnant women.
For many reasons, this doesn’t personally affect me, but it personally affects me in the fact that not having Roe v. Wade affects everyone. Women should not be marginalized in any way.
It’s absurd that people would be ruled by a law from 1849 telling you what you can and can’t do with your own body. It’s a ridiculous thing.
Voting for these elections specifically is critical because they’re off-season elections, so it’s important to get the word out about them and make sure that people turn up. There’s a lot at stake in this election.
This election could turn democracy in Wisconsin on its ear.
I think it is always important for people to get out and vote to show what they stand for, let our representatives know what we believe in and who we believe in, and to effect change. I mean, this upcoming election is very, very important if we want to have a chance at overturning the ban.
I think that’s how we are going to do this.
