January 22 marked the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a women’s right to choose. In conjunction with the Women’s March national day of action, the Pensacola Abortion Rights Taskforce held a speak-out for abortion rights in downtown Pensacola. WUWF spoke to rally-goers and counter-protestors to get their thoughts on Roe v. Wade and reproductive justice.
Hunter Morrison
Roe v. Wade, to me is an important assortment of our individual rights and freedoms. Contained within that is the possibility to achieve our truest and fullest selves. And part of that, especially for people who have the possibility of becoming pregnant contained with them, that is the choice to carry that pregnancy to term or to not carry that pregnancy to term. That is intrinsic to our sense of individual freedom as well as the ability to ascertain that. The majority of your constituents adhere to the foundational American concept of individual freedom, and that liberation is intrinsic for all. So, lawmakers: my body, my choice.
Orchid, Pensacola
Hunter Morrison
It was a bad decision 50 years ago by a court that did not have the jurisdiction to create a law that did not exist. And it took until this last year, with the Supreme Court, now to realize that they had no jurisdiction to do what they did. There is no intrinsic right to kill a baby, and so they had to act upon that.
Anna, Gulf Breeze
Hunter Morrison
Roe v. Wade really represents, to me, the legacy of militant struggle for basic rights. Something that I think in our society, we don't always necessarily get the full history of all of the people who came before us who really got organized and did what it took. Roe was a really significant victory for its time, but it also represents a certain sadness because it has been overturned, it has been under attack for a long time. And so, it also kind of really gives me the motivation to keep up the fight and to try to really enshrine those rights for good. I think that lawmakers need to start listening to the real interest of the working class. We live in a world where I think something like over 70% of people in the US. Support some access to abortion rights. They supported Roe and still, the Supreme Court felt empowered to take that away from us. So that really reflects that we don't have a true democracy and our lawmakers need to get with the program or we're going to have to organize and push our agenda on them.
Sarah, Pensacola
Hunter Morrison
Abortion is the premeditated taking of an innocent life. It is the most egregious type of murder.
Ted Frazier, Milton
Hunter Morrison
No one else can interfere with what you want to do. It's like a medical choice (it's about) medical freedom.
Sierra Krantz, Pensacola