Milwaukee, WI – Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee (RJAM) organized an emergency rally to demand access to mifepristone, the abortion pill medication, on Monday, May 4.
After a recent appeals court ruling that would’ve banned the prescription of the pill through telehealth or mail order, Louisiana sued the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), attempting to reinstate mandatory in-person consultations to have the medication prescribed. The state claimed that mifepristone access undermines their abortion ban The Supreme Court blocked the suit temporarily, and the official decision will be made in the next week. The fight for bodily autonomy and reproductive health continues.
There is a slew of anti-abortion legal cases being pushed through courts nationwide.
Milwaukeeans still came together at a rally for abortion rights, with dozens of people gathering in downtown Milwaukee to call for access to mifepristone and chanting, “Not the courts, not the state, the people must decide their fate.”
RJAM hosted three speakers, then led some loud chanting on the corner of Red Arrow Park, their voices echoing through the city to nearby traffic, pedestrians and City Hall.
Abortion remains legal in Wisconsin, but there are only five abortion clinics, in the southeast region of the state and Madison, leaving the majority of the state and rural areas without services. Wisconsin also does not allow telehealth consultations for abortion, so their access is still very restricted. Meanwhile, the “pro-life” religious groups in Wisconsin operate 50-plus crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) around the state, working to deceive and deny women their rights.
The protest drew an energetic, multi-generational crowd.
RJAM kicked off the speeches with their founding member, Carly Klein, demanding, “Bodily autonomy for all. Unrestricted access to abortion care. Immediate mifepristone access. The right to telehealth abortion services. An end to politically motivated attacks on healthcare.” She added, “Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee will continue to organize, mobilize, and fight because our lives depend on it.”
Klein continued, “This has never been about safety. Mifepristone is one of the most studied medications in the United States and has been used safely by millions. Anti-abortion politicians continue to spread misinformation to justify control over our bodies and our healthcare decisions.”
Jo Fox from Planned Parenthood-Generation Action at UWM stated, “Attacks on mifepristone are a steppingstone to the end-goal: a no-exception ban on abortion access nationwide.” The crowd chanted back “That ain’t right!” Fox also spoke on the unnecessary barriers Wisconsinites face when trying to access care, including a two-visit minimum requirement, and a prohibition on advanced care practitioners (RNs, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) to provide abortion medications to patients.
Andrea Waters from Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “Wealthy people in the ruling class will still find a way. They can travel, they can pay, and get private care.” While the working class cannot do so easily. She added, “Capitalism wants our labor, it wants our children’s future labor. It wants us to carry the burden of care while the state cuts services, bosses keep wages low, landlords raise the rent, and healthcare becomes more expensive. The super-exploitation of women has never been more clear.”
RJAM reminded us that abortion care is still available for now. Whether or not mifepristone stays legal, there is still another medication, misoprostol, that can induce abortion.
Abortion is healthcare and women, and the people, need unrestricted access to it, lest they return to the dark ages of back-alley abortions, or the situation in states where it is banned, leading to criminalization and death for the lack of abortion care. Reproductive justice for all, now.
#MilwaukeeWI #WI #WomensMovement #RJAM #Abortion #ReproductiveRights
From Fight Back! News via This RSS Feed.