Washington advocates plan human rights march

WASHINGTON — Advocates are planning a march for “reproductive rights, medical privacy, and bodily freedom” in Washington next week.

While organizers said they were prompted by the recently leaked Supreme Court opinion forecasting an overturn of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, event participant Barb Duder said the protest had a broader message.

“In expanding it into overall human rights, we are hoping that people all over the political spectrum will at least listen and hear our message,” she said.

Duder said she worried the Court’s anticipated decision would spill over to other rights under the 14th Amendment.

“When we take away rights for one group, especially the right of bodily autonomy ... then we have eroded rights for many people,” she said. “Maybe today it’s pregnancy ... maybe tomorrow it’s something like you choosing not to vaccinate your child.

“There was a lot of fear surrounding COVID, people would not wear masks, people refused to get vaccinated because it was, ‘My body, my choice,’ and yet they don’t feel that right extends to individuals who find themselves needing to terminate a pregnancy. If you erode rights for one person, it’s a slippery slope, and the next thing you know, we’re no longer a free country.”

Still, those involved in the march said their concerns stemmed from abortion rights.

“I’m old enough to remember when women didn’t have legal abortion access,” said Robin Plattenberger Gilmore, a retired physician involved with the march. “They would go to back alleys and pay for abortions from people who were not qualified, and then they risked their fertility for the rest of their life, or maybe they got septic and women died. I remember very well, a woman dropping dead in the parking lot of a grocery store in Cedar Rapids when I was in high school.”

Gilmore said she agreed that the message was aimed less at policymakers and more at community members.

“We want people to know their talking points so they can call their legislators and tell them what their thoughts are regarding individuals’ right to privacy, individuals’ right to choice,” she said. “Sometimes they just need someone to help them find the words ... there are too many special interest groups paid to tell the legislature what laws to write, how to write them, and they don’t really represent us as individuals, so we need to reclaim our individual voices and make our concerns known.”

Plans for the march were outlined in a Facebook event notice, which said a “gathering and rally” would start at Mills Seed Co. at 10 a.m. June 11, followed by a march that will “proceed around the downtown area” starting 30 minutes later.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com