|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
"Don't be polite" became the unofficial rallying cry of Thursday night's vigil and protest for reproductive rights in Redwood City.
Nearly a week after the United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, more than 60 people—parents and their children, city officials and religious leaders—gathered outside the downtown branch of the public library to hug, cry and share their stories.
A local mother-daughter duo, Michelle and Emily Maia, were among the attendees.
"It's hard to do nothing," said Emily, a student at Carlmont High School. "Even just like going out and talking and expressing your feelings with people who are also frustrated…it felt empowering."
Her mother, Michelle, stood at her side in a large peace sign necklace over a shirt with Rosie the Riveter and the words "Nevertheless She Persisted." She said she was worried about her daughter's future and how the court's decision would determine where she could safely attend college.
"I'm here to support reproductive rights for everybody," she said. "But then especially for my daughter."
The Supreme Court on Friday, June 24, reversed the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which granted women the federal right to an abortion in the United States. The 6-3 vote sends authority to regulate abortion back to the states. Thirteen "trigger law" states already have anti-abortion laws that went into effect immediately after the decision.
The rally followed a loose itinerary of speakers from the city council, the faith community and Planned Parenthood, with breaks for music and poetry. Organizers also passed out typed, affirmative messages and set up a poster board for people to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences.
Reverend Katie Goetz, who helped organize the event, said she started planning immediately after the news broke.
"A bunch of lovely people who are here started messaging me saying, 'what are we going to do about the Supreme Court ruling?' On Saturday we got together and started planning," she said.
Calling the rally "an opportunity to both express grief and rage," Goetz emphasized that it was also a chance to learn about and commit to further action. "It's important that people don't leave here feeling that they're done," she said.
A pastor at the Woodside Road United Methodist Church, Goetz said she and her fellow clergy people felt particularly called to spearhead the event.
"The Supreme Court justice appointments that got us to this point were driven by primarily white evangelical Christians," she said, adding that the church "has something to answer for."
This notion—that religion does not preclude and, in fact, supports explicitly a woman's right to choose—was popular among the speakers, who included Rabbi Laurie Matzkin of the Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Reverend Brian Ferguson of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Redwood City and Reverend Iain Stanford of the St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Redwood City.
Matzkin shared her story of suffering a "missed abortion," in which a blood clot caused her 9-week-old fetus to die in the womb. She recalled "sobbing" on the operating table before her doctor prepared to surgically remove the remaining tissue. Without Roe's protection, she said new practitioners might be prohibited from performing or even learning how to perform such a procedure for future women.
Addressing her faith, she said that Judaism explicitly "supports the sanctity of life," which, she added, "overrides the sanctity of potential life."
"Abortion isn't simple, and needing an abortion does not mean you do not value life," she said.
Stanford, a clergyman and queer trans man, reminded the listeners that reproductive rights affect "all sorts of bodies."
The Supreme Court's decision has a bearing not just on people seeking abortions or considering parenthood, he said, explaining that "there are implications for those in the trans and non-binary community…trying to have reproductive rights in order to be parents."
To support members of the LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities, who he said would bear the brunt of the consequences of Roe's reversal, Stanford urged people to resist complacency.
"The truth is that we as Episcopalians—and others might see themselves in this—are too bloody polite," he said. "We do our work, and we don't want conflict."
Redwood City Mayor Giselle Hale fervently endorsed his sentiment.
"I am a combination of fired up and mad as hell," she told the crowd. "And to echo the words of Reverend Iain we're going to actually have to teach our kids not to be polite."
Hale spoke about her efforts to protect access to local reproductive health care facilities and the importance of fortifying California as a sanctuary state. She grew emotional recalling a recent conversation with a Planned Parenthood doctor who was already seeing out-of-state patients.
"But all she could think about were the women who would not receive that care," Hale said, holding back tears.
Faith leaders closed the event by inviting members of the public to speak and facilitating conversations. Attendees were asked to turn to a neighbor and take turns answering the following questions: Why are you here? And, what are you going to do next?
Vail Weller, a mother and San Mateo resident, said she felt overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness and cynicism in the wake of the court's decision. But, looking at the crowd around her, she said, "I do feel better here."
Speaking with the Pulse after the event, Stanford reiterated his call to action.
With a job, healthcare, a home and a church that supports him, he described himself as "probably one of the most privileged trans people." For that reason, and with human rights at stake, he said not speaking up would be unforgivable.
"To take away people's rights to force them into impossible situations, it takes away their human dignity," he told the Pulse. "And so it's about fighting—it's about staying in the struggle and being uncomfortable."
