Sacramento Bee: ‘We need to fight like hell’: Hundreds rally in Sacramento to protect abortion rights

A few hundred people supporting abortion rights gathered Tuesday evening outside a federal courthouse in downtown Sacramento, angry over a leaked draft opinion that shows the U.S. Supreme Court is on the verge of overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

They stood outside the Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, holding pink placards with the phrase “Healthcare Is A Human Right” and chanting “Stand up, fight back!”

Jodi Hicks, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, told demonstrators outside the courthouse the draft opinion is “a preview of what’s to come, sooner rather than later.”

“We need to fight like hell,” Hicks said at the rally. “Our kids are going to have less civil rights than we had, and we can’t stand for it. And everybody needs to use their voice and ensure that the policy makers that are doing this know that we’ll fight back.”

Hicks said the impending Supreme Court decision will lead to abortion bans in other states throughout the country that will disproportionately affect low-income residents and “our Black and brown folks.” She said those people with financial resources will still be able to get healthcare, while many others will not.

“The Latino community is out to stand with Planned Parenthood,” said Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles. “Too long have we been discriminated, excluded from having healthcare. Enough is enough! We’re going to keep on fighting, and we’re all together on this.”

The Tuesday rally was quickly organized to respond to news surrounding the draft Supreme Court opinion, which Politico said it got from a person familiar with the court’s deliberations. The draft reveals the justices could strike down Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that found abortion to be a constitutionally protected right.

“We are not going to lose our rights. We are not going to go backwards,” Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara told the Sacramento crowd. “At every step of the way, California will be the light. California will move forward. And there is absolutely no way that your voices are going to be silenced.”

Doris Matsui, the Sacramento area’s U.S. congressional representative, called the draft decision a “direct attack on the health and safety of millions of women across the nation,” and it would mean 26 states would quickly ban abortion and leave more than 36 million women who can become pregnant without access to “a safe, legal abortion.”

“These attacks are nothing new. In courts and state houses across the country, women’s health care rights have been under assault for years,” Matsui said in a written statement Tuesday morning. “While California continues to lead the way on abortion rights and access to women’s health care, we must demand the same for every woman across the nation.”

Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said a decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is just the beginning. Wiener, a gay man, warned this will be followed by legal attacks on the LGBTQ community. “They’re coming for us next, they’re coming for the LGBTQ community,” Wiener said at the Sacramento rally. “We see it in the same states that are outlawing abortion that are passing these crazy laws around the country.

They’re the same states that are trying to erase trans children and put their parents in jail... Our fight is one fight, we’re going to stand together.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday night called the court’s decision, which could end federal abortion rights, “an appalling attack on the rights of women across this country.”

The court is scheduled to rule by July in the case. If the draft decision stands, states would have to determine whether abortion care is legal for residents. Newsom told the Associated Press in December he wants California to be a “sanctuary” for pregnant people who might cross state lines to seek abortion care.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, which serves patients in Sacramento, other areas of Northern California and Northern Nevada, hastily organized Tuesday’s event. Lauren Babb of Planned Parenthood Mar Monte told the Sacramento crowd that they have been preparing to handle a new wave of patients seeking care.

“We’ve been preparing for this, we’ve been expanding our care by hiring more clinicians, training more providers, expanding our actual footprint, making sure we have updated ordinances locally and throughout the service area,” Babb said. “So, the work is being done.”

Planned Parenthood also is planning a larger rally at the California Capitol on May 14. Jennifer Wonnacott of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California said the news “of this nightmare scenario we’ve been planning for” should serve as a call to action. She said people need to come out and share their stories, vote and donate to local Planned Parenthood clinics.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for folks to come out and express all those things they’ve been feeling after hearing that devastating news last night and galvanize folks into action,” Wonnacott told The Sacramento Bee. “Because this fight is far from over. We have a long fight ahead of us.”

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