More than 200 people rallied for reproductive rights in front of the Skagit County Superior Courthouse in Mount Vernon Saturday afternoon. The Bans Off Our Bodies rally took place in response to the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that could overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that protects a person’s right to an abortion.
While the protest represents what has become an ongoing national movement, local organizers made it clear that reproductive rights are both personal and local.
“It’s a tragedy because I know people will die,” said Christine Kohnert, an organizer with Indivisible Skagit, a branch of the National Indivisible Movement that advocates resistance against an extremist GOP agenda, in partnership with Skagit Democrats and Mount Baker Planned Parenthood.
Kohnert is all too familiar with seeing how damaging it can be to need an abortion and not have access to one. After Kohnert graduated nursing school in 1972, her sister asked her to help work at a gynecologist clinic in a state where abortion was outlawed before the Roe v. Wade decision.
Protesters at a reproductive rights rally in Mount Vernon organized at the Skagit County Superior Courthouse on May 14. (Kyle Tubbs/Cascadia Daily News)
Kohnert said that although Washington state has laws to protect abortions, the future is an open question. Kohnert said the existence of a blueprint to overturn the right to abortion threatens rights even in states that have made efforts to protect reproductive rights.
A local Planned Parenthood official made the same point.
“What happens in D.C. affects everybody, said Linda McCarthy, CEO of Mount Baker Planned Parenthood. “We’ve already heard some comments about if the make-up of Congress changes, that they will be looking at putting in a nationwide abortion ban. So, while we feel protected and safe today, we could be in this battle a different way tomorrow or in the near future.”
The rally was Indivisible Skagit’s third this month since the leaked Supreme Court decision sparked outrage across the country and launched hundreds of similar protests.
Indivisible Skagit had a sign-up table to become a member and to learn more about local advocacy. Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood also had an information and fundraising table at the rally where volunteers gave out free stickers, buttons, signs and condoms. Planned Parenthood representatives talked to attendees about how to access their services. The table also had T-shirts and hats for people who donated.
Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood operates three clinics, one in each Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan counties. According to the Washington State Department of Health, Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood is the only abortion provider in both Whatcom County and Skagit County.
Elizabeth Pitts, left, of Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood stands next to Christine Kohnert of Indivisible Skagit who is giving one of the concluding speeches to the speaking portion of the rally. (Kyle Tubbs/Cascadia Daily News)
Speakers at the event shared stories with the crowd and stressed the importance of protecting the rights of their own bodies. After the speaking portion wrapped up around 3 p.m., rally attendees took to the sidewalks of the intersection of Kincaid Street and South Third Street in front of the courthouse.
Attendees waved and cheered at passing drivers who honked and waved back in support. Many attendees held up signs and wore clothing that had pro-choice phrases, including “Protect safe, legal abortion,” “Bans off our bodies” and “If my uterus shot bullets, you wouldn’t regulate it.”
McCarthy said the recent protests are just the tip of the iceberg.
“We cannot sit back and wonder if someone else is going to either protect them (civil rights) or threaten them even more,” she said. “Every single person can get out there and make sure their voice is heard and that they are engaged in this very important moment in time. This isn’t just about abortion rights, it’s also about the right to birth control, it’s about the right to love who you want, it’s about gay marriage and interracial marriage.”
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood operated a clinic in Island County. The story was updated to reflect Mt. Baker Planned Parenthood operates a clinic in San Juan county on May 15, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. The Cascadia Daily News regretted this error.
