The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Wesleyan students rally against anticipated Roe v. Wade ruling
Protest comes after high court’s draft abortion rights opinion was leaked
MIDDLETOWN — Dozens of students at Wesleyan University participated in the Reproductive Freedom Protest on Thursday outside the Usdan University Center in reaction to the anticipated overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The event was organized was in conjunction with protests from over 30 campuses across the country, including Connecticut College, Amherst College and Middlebury College.
The collaboration was started by a student at Hamilton College, Dewayne Martin, who reached out to Annika Shiffer-Delegard, who leads the student group Wesleyan Reproductive Advocacy & Legislation.
Martin invited Wesleyan students to join their efforts.
Attendees were encouraged to wear green in solidarity as a nod to the “Marea Verde” (Green Wave) movement that brought groundbreaking reforms and progress in reproductive health and rights in Latin America.
At the protest, organizers, university staff and Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim addressed the
crowd. Students were also invited to come up and speak.
Amy Du, one of the organizers, acknowledged the feeling of futility surrounding some protests, but noted the importance of solidarity and creating a space to process the decision together.
“A lot of people on this campus wonder what is the good of protesting when it feels like we have no choice in this matter, because it’s a decision that’s being made at the level of the Supreme Court,” Du said. “But we’re all here together to show support for one another, to acknowledge each other’s experiences and hurt in this event.”
Yongxi Tan, a recent graduate, shared her experiences growing up in China, and how, because of the one-child policy, her mother had to terminate her pregnancy.
“She was forced into an abortion, deprived of her own rights to decide what she wants for her body,” Tan said. “The pain that my mother went through is the exact opposite — yet, ironically — the same pain that so many women in America are going through and might go through in the near future, of the government taking away their reproductive rights…
“The last thing people need right now is the judgment coming from a legislator who doesn’t even have a womb, and zero ideas of how their policy could ruin someone’s life,” Tan added.
Livia Wallick, an alum and assistant director of annual giving at Wesleyan who sits on the board of the Tampa Bay abortion fund, shared a number of resources with the group.
“There’s three things I would like you to take away from today,” she said. “The first is ineedana.com, where you can find information about where to get an abortion. There’s a lot of misinformation out there and misleading websites when you search ‘I want an abortion online,’ so ineedana.com can help you find care.”
The second, Wallick said, is the National Network of Abortion Funds information on every abortion fund in the country. “If you or a friend need help accessing an abortion, need help paying for it, need child care, transportation, that’s where to go,” she added.
The third, she said is plancpills.org, where people can find up-to-date information on how to access the same abortion pills given in a clinic — online.
Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Victoria Pitts-Taylor also spoke, reading the National Women Studies Association statement on the leaked Supreme Court decision draft.
Although the protest was organized in conjunction with other colleges nationwide, Wesleyan organizers have tangible goals that they hope to achieve.
One is providing abortion pills at the Davison Health Center, ShifferDelegard said. “We also need more comprehensive [sexually transmitted disease] testing and sexual health resources on campus. That’s something that goes hand in hand.”
Shiffer-Delegard also noted the importance of abortion funds –– which provide direct financial and logistical assistance to those seeking an abortion who cannot afford it. There is currently no statewide abortion fund in Connecticut, however the REACH Fund of Connecticut is trying to establish one.
“Abortion funds are mutual aid, and we all have something we can give, whether it’s driving people to a clinic, whether it’s child care, whether it’s providing tampons and pads and other stuff for people who are housing insecure,” Shiffer-Delegard said. “That’s what it is and that’s the energy we’re going to try and bring into this movement.”
Florsheim, who serves on the board of Pro-Choice Connecticut, emphasized his commitment to the cause.
“We have to keep fighting, and, if we’re going to stand for anything in politics, in organizing, it’s the right for everybody for every person to have selfdetermination,” Florsheim said. “This is what this is really about. Economic self-determination, selfdetermination over your body, self-determination over your future.”