‘STILL FIGHTING’
Downtown rally for abortion rights marks International Women’s Day
About two dozen community members, led by local socialist activist groups, gathered outside the City-County Building Tuesday evening to mark International Women’s Day and protest new abortion restrictions.
“There’s a lot of history around International Women’s Day, or International Working Women’s Day,” said Stephanie Pavlick, 26, who is a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and was one of the speakers at the event. “It’s been around for 150 years, and it has socialist roots. ... It brings us to where we are now, still fighting for full reproductive care rights.”
Ms. Pavlick, of Bloomfield, spoke first at the event, speaking out against the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to “turn down the Women’s Health Protection Care Act.”
“These are direct attacks on reproductive autonomy with the greatest impact on the working class women, women of color and trans people,” she said in her opening remarks.
Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that made abortion a constitutional right a half century ago, is facing its toughest challenge yet. A Mississippi law would pare back the right to an abortion by two months -— to ban most abortions after 15 weeks — should the court find in its favor. A decision is expected this spring or early summer.
The main purpose of the rally was to express support for Roe, and protest the loss of abortion rights in the United States. Across the nation, several states have already curtailed abortion rights.
The rally was hosted by the PSL along with Christian Alliance for Peace, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Pittsburgh and Socialist Alternative, with speakers from all four groups.
One of the speakers, Dr. Claire Cohen, who works at Southwood Psychiatric Hospital, spoke about rights for all women getting medical care.
“This country is the richest country in the history of the world,” Dr. Cohen said. “If we value women, we value them at all phases of their lives.”
The rally touched other areas of need in the community and for women in particular.
“Women need better wages, home care, and child care,” said Katie McCarthy, of Hopewell.
“It’s easy to ignore one or even two voices,” said Chris Morgan, of Carrick. “But when you’re all together, when you’re all chanting, no matter who or what you are, it’s almost impossible to tune that out.”