Rally for women’s rights held in Modesto as abortion law faces legal threats
About 100 protesters marched and rallied in Modesto on Saturday morning following legal threats in other states to abortion rights.
Men and women from across the county gathered behind Graceada Park’s Mancini Bowl to march after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas to ban abortions at six weeks. The high court is set to hear arguments in a Mississippi abortion case in December that could also change laws in that state.
Participants at the rally were met briefly with opposition as one bystander puffed smoke in between the crowd and chanted in support of former president Donald Trump. But it didn’t stop people from marching.
Protesters began their mile-long march around adjacent Graceada and Enslen parks as an estimated 20 decorated cars circled the parks and honked in support.
“Women’s rights are human rights!” the group chanted.
Riverbank resident Julie Reuben said she remembers marching for women’s rights 50 years ago, around the time that Roe v. Wade became law, giving women across the nation the right to abortion.
“I can’t believe I’m still marching,” she said.
Even after half a century, Reuben says she hasn’t changed her stance on abortion. She marched Saturday with her friend’s 18-year-old granddaughter, holding a sign that read “It’s my body, it’s my choice.”
Of the 100 marchers, about 30 were men. Alec Sherman of Modesto said he was surprised by the number of men in attendance.
“Real men come to protest to protect the women,” he said, adding that more men should be in solidarity with women.
Miguel Donoso, Hispanic Task Force activist, shared his disappointment with the lack of Latino representation. He believes religion often keeps the Latino community in opposition to the issue, but it shouldn’t conflict.
“You don’t have to say that it’s right or wrong, you just have to stand there,” he said in Spanish.
After the march, participants gathered again near Mancini Bowl, where Waterford City Councilwoman Elizabeth Talbot shared her experience of working with Planned Parenthood for 15 years. She said she’s seen the very people who protest against abortion later seek services, ending up in the same difficult position she once was in of having an abortion.
Nearly one in four women in the U.S. will seek an abortion at some point, according to Guttmacher, a research organization supporting abortion.
Even if abortion rights came to an end in California, Talbot said her privilege most likely still would give her access. But she was there because she knows Black women, Latinas and those in the LGBT community would not have the same privilege.
“Those people are really the people I hold in my heart when I march,” she said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 3:28 PM.
