I’ve been in some dangerous situations as a person active in social movements, ranging from marching through tear gas and rubber bullets in uprisings against police terrorism to locking underneath a truck to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. I can say it took me more courage to decide to go to Planned Parenthood last month, to receive the reproductive healthcare all women should be entitled to. The pain of getting an IUD procedure 12 years ago and the lack of forewarning of what I would experience was enough to keep me away from getting it replaced. It was the worst, jarring pain I had ever experienced.
However, this time it was different. I was guided in by clinic defense volunteers as anti choice protestors attempted to harass clinic patients. I was given a mild sedative to relax me as well as numbing gel for my cervix, and wonderful care from the clinician inserting my IUD as she guided me through the process and let me know I was in control the whole time. I had a comrade there who held my hand through the whole process. It wasn’t pleasant, but it was far less scary than it could have been. I felt supported and was provided excellent care. That is what this administration wants to deny women and folks who need reproductive healthcare.
On June 24th, 2022, under a Democratic Party administration, the US Supreme Court repealed Roe v Wade. Trigger laws to outlaw abortion if no longer protected by the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the constitution went into effect in multiple states. Millions of women, trans, and non binary people lost access to abortion access over night. Women have been charged with murder for having miscarriages. Hospitals have refused to provide abortions to women whose lives are at risk due to sepsis, for fear of state prosecution. Doctors have been charged for providing lifesaving abortion care to those who cross state lines. The agenda of the right wing is not just limited to destroying abortion access.They have also ramped up attacks on contraceptive access by cutting funding and expanding exemptions for employers who refuse contraceptive healthcare coverage on moral and religious grounds. This fascist regime is dead set on relegating women to a subservient position and enforcing strict Christian conservative gender norms on all of society. Women, trans people, queer folk, men- everyone.
Voting and lobbying representatives is not going to be enough to turn the tide. We need bold direct action. And that is exactly what we in the Workers Solidarity Circle (WSC) supported. Three months ago, we took on a massive undertaking setting a goal to raise at least $10,000 for brave folks in southern states where abortion has been outlawed. There, activists have organized to send pills through the mail to folks in need of medicinal abortion care. We had a specific focus of each member of WSC raising 100 dollars from ten individuals or organizations in the labor movement, through one on one conversations. We planned to raise the rest of the funds by organizing a live abortion defense fundraiser. A major orientation of our coalition has been to galvanize the labor movement to fight on fronts not typically considered labor issues. We stand firm that attacks on reproductive justice are attacks on the working class.
Are efforts were following in the footsteps of many others resisting across the country and internationally, past and present, that have embraced direct action in order to achieve reproductive autonomy. As I wrote in 2022 for The Metropolitan in an article entitled, “Roe V. Wade was overturned: We Need a Bold Movement To Win Back Our Bodies,”
“There are modern examples to follow. In Mexico, women have been gaining access to abortion state by state. Efforts to restrict abortion access were met by feminists with fierce street protests. In Poland, women engaged in huge mass strikes in 2020 regarding severe abortion restrictions. While restrictions still stand, they made a big impact on shaking off the power of the Catholic Church on national politics. Domestically, groups are organized to break the law by providing abortion pill networks across the country. In the 1960s, groups like the Jane Collective created an underground abortion network before Roe v. Wade was decided on in the Supreme Court. Today, groups like Jane’s Revenge engage in property destruction and resistance against targets that advance restricting people’s access to abortion. The history, past and present, of reproductive health resistance is a story of bold, daring, and at times illegal action.”
At our event we had three women active in the labor movement speak about their personal experiences with abortion care and the importance of labor struggle around this issue.
Linda Leighton was our first speaker. She is a retired SEIU union steward and an active member of Remember 1934- a collective that keeps alive the history of the 1934 Teamsters strike in Minneapolis, and a descendant of a 1934 striker organizer. She opened the event speaking about her experience getting an underground surgical abortion before Roe v Wade in the 1960’s.
Shannon Norbey of Minneapolis Federation of Teachers local 59 shared her personal experience with clinic defense, and encouraged folks to be a fighter for abortion access. Rallying the crowd, she declared that everyone there were now members of Team Battle Cry, the fiercest of anti- anti choice advocates. Such a stance reflects the strength and militancy needed more than pro choice tends to reflect.
Emily Danko, a QA Tester for Activision and organizer with the local CWA 7250, spoke. She has a tattoo to stand in rebellion against the overturning of Roe V Wade, as a symbol to always continue fighting and to never give up on our rights.
Shiori Konda-Muhammad, nurse and the first vice president Minnesota Nurses Association, discussed the importance of reproductive care as a healthcare worker and the need for an anti-capitalist political strategy beyond relying on the Democratic Party.
Our main speaker was a woman who is leading underground efforts in the South to get abortion pills to those in need and whose work our fundraiser supported. She talked about how their project was standing on the shoulders of fierce feminists in Latin America doing this work for decades. Our speaker discussed how the attacks on reproductive justice as well as gender affirming care have led to the movements in defense of both issues cross-pollinating and collaborating more and more. She also shared how they used to find issues such as abortion- and feminism more broadly- as white liberal women’s concerns. After Roe v Wade was overturned, it became clear to her the importance of anarchist and broader anti-capitalist forces to organize around abortion access and feminism, because we cannot depend on liberals to do so.
The event also included an art raffle as part of the fundraiser with reproductive care themed works from local artists. The event ended with a dance party and music from DJ D Untethered. Over 100 people came to our in person event.At the end of the night, we had smashed our ten thousand dollar goal- raising over twenty thousand dollars. This event was made possible by a diverse coalition of dedicated women and trans folks as well as male comrades in the labor movement.
That night was one of my proudest moments as an organizer and activist for over 18 years. I have been a fortunate benefactor of the effort of countless feminists who have risked their safety and lives to ensure reproductive care for all. The fascists in power are doing everything they can to take that away. We resist, legally and illegally, to make damn sure they don’t win. We won’t go back.
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