Turlock abortion rights rally moved on to City Council meeting. What happened next?
Abortion rights advocates held a lively rally outside Turlock City Hall, then tried to continue in the more sedate City Council chamber.
Tuesday’s protest came four days after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision granting the right. Bans are going into effect in numerous states, though not California.
“In some states, they no longer have choice and the right to a safe, legal abortion,” co-organizer Veah Vega said. “We want to make it known that in California, we won’t stand for that.”
The 4:30 p.m. rally drew about 70 people to the sidewalk outside the Broadway building. Many of the protesters then walked up to the second-floor chamber in the hope of speaking at the council’s 6 p.m. meeting. Public bodies must provide for this under the state’s Brown Act.
Mayor Amy Bublak said she would allow only two speakers because the council has no role in the abortion issue. City Attorney George Petrulakis agreed.
“It’s the classic example of something that you have no subject matter jurisdiction over,” he said.
Two out of dozens speak
One of the permitted speakers identified herself only as Gianna. She urged increased funding for sex education and contraception as abortion becomes less available in some places.
The other speaker was Ryan Taylor, who said he is running for the council in November. He said he is against abortion personally but supports a woman’s right to choose it.
Council members Andrew Nosrati and Nicole Larson favored letting everyone speak, but they did not make a formal motion. Their comments drew applause from rally participants. Many had brought their signs into the chamber, a few of them bearing the F-word, but they were not displayed openly.
Vega organized the protest with Micah Littlepage, a fellow 2022 graduate of Pitman High School. Attendees shouted chants such as “my body, my choice,” and “abortion is health care.” One sign said “Pro-life till it’s kids dying in school,” an apparent reference to campus shootings.
The group got occasional honks of support from passing drivers. There was no sign of a counterprotest.
Right to privacy limited
The Supreme Court rejected Roe v. Wade’s finding that abortion was covered by the right to privacy in the 14th Amendment. States are now free to carry out restrictions passed in recent years in anticipation of the ruling.
California remains open to abortion, including Planned Parenthood health centers in Modesto and elsewhere. The Legislature just placed a measure on the November ballot that would affirm this right in the state Constitution.
Vega and Littlepage promoted the rally through PHS Student Justice to other activists in the area. Littlepage cautioned that the high court’s reasoning could apply to same-sex marriage, contraception and other rights.
“It started with abortion, but it will not end with abortion,” he said.
This story was originally published June 29, 2022 at 12:13 PM.
