The crowd was far smaller than the 20,000 expected but many of Wisconsin’s top Democrats came out for a reproductive rights rally at the state Capitol Saturday afternoon organized by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin — including Gov. Tony Evers.
“I'm not going to stand up here and tell you it’s going to be easy because it's not. It’s going to be hard. The days ahead will be very difficult and the consequences are so real for so many people,” Evers told a crowd estimated to be around 1,500 by the Madison Police Department. “We cannot turn our back on the clock of reproductive health care access by five decades…. We will not go back. We’re going to fight like hell.”
Whether support for reproductive rights will help Democrats at the ballot box will be tested in the months ahead. The Capitol gathering Saturday afternoon felt more like a partisan political rally than the larger Madison protest organized by local socialist groups on May 3, the day after Politico reported on the leaked draft ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. But that protest didn’t feature the state’s Democratic top brass.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, state Senator Melissa Agard, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, and other Democrats and supporters stood behind Evers as he delivered remarks at the rally. With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, a near total ban on abortions will be reinstated in Wisconsin thanks to a law passed in 1849.
“For three straight years, I've had a ringside seat for the attacks on reproductive health care in Wisconsin. And for three straight years I've had the honor of vetoing every single one of them,” Evers said. “We're here today because we are not going away, we will continue to act. If we can't count on the courts to protect access to reproductive health care, then we will turn to the legislatures. And if they won't do it — you know what — we'll find legislators who will.”
The Madison crowd cheered enthusiastically over that line. However, Republicans have solid majorities in the state Legislature — and even if it’s an exceptionally good year for Democrats — the GOP is all but certain to remain in control of the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate after the November 2022 elections.
Evers is one of 17 governors calling on the U.S Senate to immediately pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, co-authored by Baldwin. The law would bring federal protection to abortion access, superseding state laws, but the measure failed on May 12 by 49-51 vote with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin siding with Republicans. Baldwin told the crowd she was “deeply disappointed that the legislation did not pass.”
“It served a few very important roles. It laid a marker on the ground for all of us to see who is with us and who is against,” said Baldwin. “It shows the people of Wisconsin who stands for protecting these constitutional rights and who is trying to take them away. I was proud to stand with you, and the overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites, who believe abortion should be safe and legal.”
Christine Neumann-Ortiz, from the immigration rights group Voces de la Frontera, told demonstrators “reproductive rights are immigrants rights. Reproductive rights are workers rights.”
“All women, regardless of income or immigration status, should have the right to a safe and legal abortion. There can be no equality and dignity for women in society without the fundamental right of women to control their own reproduction and to determine their own future,” said Neumann-Ortiz, in both English and Spanish. “Mi cuerpo, mi decision.”
Tanya Atkinson, president of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, delivered the final remarks at the rally. She, too, was realistic about the uphill political battle Democrats and reproductive rights advocates face in the state. Undeterred, Atkinson said “this moment is rooted in love.”
“Love is what gives me the courage to be really, really honest with you all. A storm is brewing, the storm is here,” said Atkinson. “I know what our legislature looks like. I get it. But guess what, they have a job. And the majority of Wisconsinites support access to safe and legal abortion, so call them no matter who they are and demand that they do their job.”
