Hundreds rally against Texas abortion law at Aurora reproductive rights march - Chicago Tribune

“We won’t go back,” read a sticker on a sign Becker made to carry for an Aurora reproductive rights march and rally Saturday at Simmons Park, 1201 E. Indian Trail Road.

“I thought it was settled,” Johnson-Linner said. “Now, we’re here again fighting for Roe v. Wade. It’s sickening. I remember when I was young and the choices you had. I remember 15-year-old girls getting pregnant. I remember girls using dirty hangers to get rid of pregnancies. It’s a nightmare to go back to that,” she said.

“I was looking for a march myself and said why don’t we have a march in Aurora, the second-largest city in Illinois. So, I signed up to organize it,” Ravi said. “I had no idea it would be this so big. I’m so excited there are so many people.”

It was one of dozens of rallies and marches around the country supporting reproductive rights and opposing the abortion law that took effect in Texas. The. U.S. Supreme Court, which has an unprecedented number of conservative justices, may hear legal challenges to the Texas law that could overturn Roe v. Wade.

Ravi was joined by several other organizers and speakers, including State Rep. Barbara Hernandez, who represents the 83rd District, Nicole Mullins of Aurora Grassroots Alliance, and poets, including Batavia-based poet and author Anne Hex.

“I really don’t know what to say. I’m mad. I’m sad. It’s just mixed emotions. I know you guys are mad, too. I know you’re upset. Rightly so. We don’t want anyone to tell us what to do with our body,” Hernandez said. The action in Texas was “disgusting to see,” she said. “I’m very excited to see a big group of people here to continue the fight.”

Illinois legislators may be voting on a proposal to revoke the state’s 2013 parental notice law, Hernandez said. The law requires health care providers to notify an adult family member if someone under the age of 18 wants an abortion. “Here in Illinois, we have a lot of issues. We have a lot of pension issues and taxes. But, here in Illinois, we are protecting women’s rights,” Hernandez said.

The crowd included people of different ages, backgrounds, and genders. One man wore a T-shirt that read “Against Abortion? Have a vasectomy” with an image of scissors.

Hex writes queer, feminist poetry about trauma. “I’m here as a queer person to remind y’all that abortion is health care, and it is also genderless. This is all of us, it’s human rights, not just women’s rights,” Hex said.

Johnson-Linner compared the fight for reproductive rights to women’s rights in other countries. “What we’re doing here, and what we’ve done here is the ultimate in hypocrisy,” she said.

source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/ct-abn-aurora-womens-rally-st-1004-20211003-obzcssdwova2je6cddo5gvwtqe-story.html

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