Thousands in Tucson show support of Roe v. Wade

The protest at Armory Park in downtown Tucson drew thousands of people: women, men and children. But the only person I saw wearing a “Pussy Hat” — the pink hat made famous at the first Women’s March back in 2017–was a man. With him were two women including one wearing a “Entering Gilead” t-shirt. (Full disclosure: I was at the L.A. Women’s March in 2017 along with a half a million other women. I also attended the Tucson protest in October, 2021 in support of women of Texas.)

While the atmosphere at this protest of the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court was upbeat, deep down many, if not all, of us who attended feared that the reality of Gilead, the fictitious country in the book and streaming series, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, may be coming all too soon to America.

See Update at bottom of this post for what the Tucson City Council and the State of Arizona have done re the potential overturn of Roe v Wade.

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade and now about half the states will ban or severely limit abortions, Arizona among them. There are currently 2 state laws about abortion and it is unclear which one is the effective one. Mayor Regina Romero announced that per a resolution passed by the City Council on June 7th, the Tucson Police have been instructed not to arrest anyone seeking an abortion and that the responsibility will be with the State of Arizona.

Here is what I saw at the demonstration on May 14th:

Families bring the next generation

This woman wearing a Ruth Bader Ginsburg shirt was accompanied by a friend and children. Her husband was with them, too. The boy with the black hat gave me directions to Armory Park. It turned out to be nearby.

There were other family groups showing support for Roe v Wade. But most of the demonstrators were women, including some younger ones with colorful hair!

There were signs…lots of protest signs.

Many, many of the protestors were women who may have been girls or young women back in 1973, when that Supreme Court decision supporting abortion was announced.

And under the shade of a tree were more women with signs voicing their opinions.

And still more…

And a “handmaid”. For my granddaughter’s sake, I hope the U.S. doesn’t become a new Gilead populated with handmaids. She lives in California where there are protections for pregnant women, unlike here in Arizona.

UPDATE: On June 9th the Tucson City Council approved a resolution instructing the Tucson Police NOT to arrest anyone at an abortion clinic. The state of Arizona now has a “law-in-waiting” –waiting for the Supreme Court decision about abortions–that would establish a law banning all abortions after 15 weeks. Meanwhile abortions are still legal in Arizona.

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