Juneau residents rally for women’s rights in wake of Supreme Court abortion decision

Advocates gathered in front of the Alaska State Capitol for a rally in support of protecting abortion rights on Saturday, June 25 in Juneau. (Photo by Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)

Hundreds of Juneau residents rallied against the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade over the weekend. They say they’re taking their outrage to the polls.

The crowd was thick across the street from the Capitol on Saturday. Passing cars tooted their horns and the sun reflected off of signs.

Madeline Bowman carried one that read: “Wait, so you’ll let me have a gun, but you won’t give me bodily autonomy?”

Bowman just graduated from high school and turns 18 this week.

“It feels so disappointing,” she said of the decision. “Just feels very heavy to wake up and see that.”

Madeline Bowman in Juneau at the rally against the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade. (Photo by Claire Stremple/KTOO)

Deb Etheridge says she’s marched in Washington, D.C. and has been an advocate for women’s rights for decades.

“I can’t believe we’re going back 50 years and I just need to be here,” she said.

She said she wants her daughter — and her daughter’s daughters — to have the same protection that she had. She carried a watercolor painting of a uterus “raising the fallopian tube finger.”

Deb Etheridge in Juneau at the rally against the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade. (Photo by Claire Stremple/KTOO)

The rally was organized by the Juneau Pro-Choice Coalition and included speakers from throughout the community.

Juneau Assembly member Michelle Hale urged the crowd to go further than protest.

“This is really important what we’re doing here, but we need to get into office and be in office and make these things happen,” she said.

She asked the crowd to consider running in upcoming elections—and to consider which campaigns and candidates they’d like to support.

“It’s hard and it’s so, so important and we’ve got to do it. We’ve got to protest, but we’ve got to take those actions and protect each other as well.”

The phrase “Abortion is health care” arranged in the shape of a heart on a sign held by a protester at a pro-choice rally on Saturday, June 25, 2022 in Juneau. (Photo by Tasha Elizarde/KTOO)

Juneau Rep. Sara Hannan and Sen. Jesse Kiehl spoke at the rally. Kiehl condemned the decision but reassured the crowd that their rights are safe in Alaska because of the explicit right to privacy in the state’s constitution.

“Folks, as long as we can keep their mitts off the Alaska constitution that’s going to stay that way in our state,” he said.

But he warned that a constitutional convention could threaten those rights. Every decade, Alaskans get to choose whether or not to revisit the state constitution. That vote comes this November.

Sen. Jesse Kiehl speaking at a rally against the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate abortion rights. (Photo by Claire Stremple/KTOO)

Kiehl also said the ruling opened the door for other rights to be stripped.

“They are coming from marriage equality. They are coming for nondiscrimination laws. They’re coming for you if you don’t live exactly the way they want,” Kiehl said.

Elliott Tibbetts-Travis invited the crowd to recognize that trans and non-binary people are also affected by the ruling.

“I’m not a woman, but I can still get pregnant. I’m not a woman, but I can still give birth and I’m not a woman, but I can still nurture life,” they said.

Juneau Pro-Choice Coalition asked for support and made their mission clear. Their mission is to get pro-choice candidates elected to protect women’s rights in the state.

Claire Stremple

Alaska News Reporter

I believe every Alaskan has a right to timely information about their health and health systems, and their natural environment and its management. My goal is to report thoughtful stories that inform, inspire and quench the curiosity of listeners across the state.

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