Anchorage group rallies for reproductive rights in wake of Supreme Court leak

Roughly 200 people gathered at rush hour Tuesday night in midtown Anchorage to rally for the protection of reproductive rights. (Photo by Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)

A draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion, leaked to Politico on Monday, suggests justices are poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, which constitutionally protects peoples’ abortion rights.

By Tuesday morning, national calls for action spread online for pro-choice rallies to occur at 5 p.m. local time. Rally organizers in Anchorage chose the corner of Minnesota Drive and Northern Lights Boulevard, where roughly 200 people convened during rush hour Tuesday evening.

“Abortion is still safe and legal,” said Nora Morse, the Political and Field Director at Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates. “Roe v. Wade has not been overturned. You can still access care — that’s really important for people to know.”

Nearby, Stand Up Alaska executive director Erin Jackson-Hill holds a cardboard cutout of Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

“I see a lot of really, really angry people. I see a lot of people who feel disenfranchised. I see a lot of people who feel like we’re taking a huge step backward in time. I see a lot of people that are scared, frankly,” she said.

Jackson-Hill urged Sen. Lisa Murkowski to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act.

“I don’t say that you have to agree with abortion. But I think most people don’t agree with forced birth, which is what we’re talking about here. I don’t have children. If I had been forced to have children, I don’t think that I would be here,” she said.


Iva Karoly-Lister holds a sign that reads, “Abortion is basic healthcare”.  (Photo by Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)
Erin Jackson Hill (left), Moira Pyhala (right), and Marmalade (the dog) pose with a cardboard cutout of Sen. Lisa Murkowski and a sign that reads, “Hey Lisa, pass the Women’s Healthcare Protection Act.”  (Photo by Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)
Katherine Pfeiffer recalls having a conversation with her grandmother about self-managed abortions. “I remember her telling me that it wasn’t clothes hangers that they used, but rather was this tube that had a wire. And she told me that they used to pass it around. And that was what they use for birth control. And she told me about one of my aunts who perforated her cervix in her uterus, and what the aftermath of that was. And I don’t want to have to go back to that.” (Photo by Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)
“I think now more than ever, it’s so incredibly important that we’re standing up for a woman’s right to choose,” said Ron Meehan, a regional vice chair for the Alaska Democratic Party.  (Photo by Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)
People in Anchorage stand on a sidewalk during a rally for reproductive rights. (Photo by Jeff Chen/Alaska Public Media)

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