Abortion-rights advocates rallied at the Statehouse Tuesday night to protest new abortion restrictions across the nation.
Speakers celebrated Vermont lawmakers for advancing a bill that will protect access to abortion in the state. Gov. Phil Scott will allow that bill, H.57, to become law, his spokesperson said Monday night.
But several other states, including Alabama, Georgia and Missouri, have in recent weeks passed legislation that would restrict or effectively ban abortions.
“Just a few years ago, these bills were too extreme for many state politicians to touch. Now, they are regularly becoming law,” said Meagan Gallagher, the president of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. “These politicians are trying to control people’s lives, and we will not stand for it.”
Those pushing new protections and restrictions are both preparing for the possibility that the new conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court could narrow or overturn the abortion protections in the Roe v. Wade decision.
“We need to fight for those sisters who are in the states where they’re banning abortions,” said Beverly Little Thunder of the Peace & Justice Center. “The fight is national. And if we’re not a part of that solution, then we’re a part of that problem.”
H.57 protects reproductive choice as a “fundamental right” and prohibits government from placing any restrictions on abortion access. Lawmakers this year also advanced a constitutional amendment protecting reproductive rights, which will face another vote in the next legislative biennium.
Speakers praised Scott for allowing the House bill to pass into law, but pressed him to sign the legislation to demonstrate his commitment to abortion rights. Scott has not signaled whether he will sign the bill, or let it pass into law without his signature.
“When we elect candidates who represent our interests and our desires, we can have a governor that champions pro-choice legislation, instead of reluctantly letting it slide by his desk,” said Julielyn Gibbons of the #VOTEPROCHOICE campaign.
The rally Tuesday was organized by regional and Vermont chapters of Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Women’s March and others.
Paige Feeser, the Vermont public affairs organizer for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said over 300 connected protests were taking place nationwide. “These events are sending a loud signal to politicians that we are angry, and we will not go back,” she said.
