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Outside of Hendricks Chapel, about 60 people gathered to defend abortion rights on Wednesday night, the same day oral arguments for a Mississippi abortion law began before the Supreme Court.

If passed, Mississippi’s abortion law would ban abortions after 15 weeks during a woman’s second trimester. If the Supreme Court upholds this law, it would lead to the overruling of an abortion rights law protected by the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, a historic decision which established the constitutional right to abortions.

Across the country Wednesday, similar rallies took place to protest and ask the Supreme Court to shoot down the law and protect Roe v. Wade. Shortly after the event, it was reported that conservatives in the Supreme Court are leaning toward upholding Mississippi’s abortion law

Stand With Survivors SU, Syracuse’s local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Syracuse branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation led chants such as, “Hey hey, ho ho, the patriarchy has got to go.” Leaders of each organization gave speeches, advocating for women’s and pregnant people’s healthcare.

“So many people have fallen victims at the hands of these abortion bans, restrictions and legislations,” said Carla Guariglia, a leader of SWSSU. “Abortion is a constitutional right, and we must stare our abusers in their eyes as we attempt to reclaim it.”

Some of the speakers specifically mentioned the intersectionality between racism, misogyny and abortion control. One spoke specifically about how Black women are four times more likely than white women to die during childbirth, saying how free and legal abortion care could’ve saved these women specifically.

Liam Hines, a graduate student at Syracuse University and representative for Syracuse PSL, discussed the U.S.’s history of forced sterilization of marginalized women, such as Black and Indigenous women.

“Gender-based oppression has been baked into the legal and social fabric of the United States since its founding,” Hines said. “Working-class people uniting together, organizing and demanding change is how we will win this struggle and is ultimately the only path towards ending the oppression for all kind.”

Students at the event asked the Supreme Court to see the detriments they believed the new Mississippi abortion law puts on women and pregnant people. One speaker said women and pregnant people are often treated like criminals for asking for control over their bodies.
“No one is immoral for doing what they want with their own bodies,” the speaker said. “The demonization of people who get abortions seeks to eliminate women and other pregnant people’s bodily autonomy.”

Guariglia said the Mississippi abortion ban does not have provisions in place if a person becomes pregnant due to rape or incest. She said she believes the U.S. and capitalism have specifically continued to enact violence and trauma on survivors, an example being this abortion ban.

“We stand here today fearless and with hope in our fellow fighters across the nation,” Guariglia said in her speech. “We stand here to urge that our representatives listen to our cries for help and demand to stand with us against this state-sanctioned violence.”

Published on December 2, 2021 at 1:30 am

Contact Karoline: kaleonar@syr.edu