Several local women have organized a “Women’s March for Reproductive Rights” to take place Saturday, Oct. 2, to coincide with Women’s Rights events taking place across the country to protest the Supreme Court’s recent Texas abortion law decision. The event is one of three taking place in Mississippi — Biloxi and Jackson also will have events.
Ole Miss psychology professor Kate Kellum and Cristen Hemmins, chair of the Lafayette County Democrats, have been working with other Oxford citizens in organizing the event. After their initial request to march was denied by the city of Oxford’s Board of Aldermen and Code Enforcement Officer Johnny Sossaman, Kellum received a “yes” to gather instead.
“I do want to give credit to all of them,” Kellum said. “After the initial ‘no’ and some feedback on that ‘no’ from their constituents, the city worked together — our elected officials and the police worked together to find a reasonable solution.”
Despite the obstacles Kellum and the Women’s March co-organizers faced, Kellum believes that the gathering is important to bring awareness to women’s reproductive rights, as she has seen women struggle to find the appropriate medical attention they need.
“Sometimes, people talk about good abortions, like all the ones that save lives — but all abortions should be choices that are made by the people involved, not our elected officials,” she said. “These should be medical decisions.”
The United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments starting on Dec. 1 regarding the Mississippi abortion case that threatens to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, challenges the Mississippi law that bans most abortions prior to a fetus becoming viable. In 2018, the Mississippi Legislature voted to ban most abortions after 15 weeks. Fetal viability typically is acknowledged to be between 22 and 24 weeks. Despite the 2018 law being struck down by the 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to consider the case potentially poses a serious challenge to Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that declared a woman has a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy in the first six months, when a fetus is incapable of surviving outside the womb.
Ole Miss assistant pharmacy professor Sujith Ramachandran, who is also attending this march, is a health policy researcher and advocate for healthcare quality. Ramachandran says that access to abortion is an essential healthcare service. The implications of this Mississippi case and the possibility of the ruling being overturned would trickle down and hit marginalized communities the hardest. Mississippi ranks the highest in maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate and preterm birth rate, the highest percentage of children born with low birth weight and the second-highest teen birth rate.
“Removing this access will almost certainly make all these indicators worse, increasing the rates of maternal mortality, teen births and make Mississippi unwelcome for women and families,” Ramachandran said. “Instead of removing access to abortion, I wish we would prioritize care for mothers and newborn children while preserving women’s rights to choose to have an abortion.”
Another key factor — according to Ramachandran — in determining the importance of this case and access to abortion is how accessible, appropriate healthcare can have an overall effect on the country’s economy, welfare, wellbeing and more specifically women’s care. The possibility of not having access to an abortion or women’s clinic can affect a woman’s ability to receive other aspects of care including, contraceptives, pregnancy testing and cancer screenings.
“The important thing to remember about abortion care is that like any other aspect of healthcare, it is tied to our lives in many intricate ways,” he said. “Access to abortion is not just about choosing whether or not to have a child, it is also about making informed decisions about your health, your finances, your career and your decision to pursue the life you wish to lead.”
Women’s rights activists across the country say the Mississippi law is unconstitutional according to almost five previous decades of existing Supreme Court rulings. However, with the newest additions to the bench, including Donald Trump’s more conservative appointees, Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, Democrats believe Roe v. Wade is in clear danger.
“I’m really concerned,” Hemmins said. “Especially since they weren’t willing to do anything about the Texas case and let that go through. That should have been less likely to let that pass so it’s very, very concerning. We only have one abortion clinic in Mississippi as it is. If Roe v. Wade is essentially overturned, then we’ll be back to where we were when my mother was in college here at Ole Miss, and she had friends who died from botched abortions.”
In a recent ruling over a Texas abortion law, the three justices voted against a request to stop Texas’ restrictive abortion law, which went into effect Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. The new Texas law prohibits abortion after six weeks.
“I think that women should be able to decide what happens to their own bodies,” Hemmins said. “And the vast majority of Americans and even Mississippians agree with me.”
The Pew Research Center released poll results regarding Americans’ overall opinions on overturning Roe v. Wade, with polling lasting from July 22, 2019 – Aug. 4 2019. In its findings, it states that 7 in 10 Americans said they would not like to see Roe vs. Wade overturned. In overall majorities, 70% of women don’t want the 1973 ruling completely overturned, while 69% of men agree.
“Given Mississippi is an outlier from the rest of the country in many of these metrics, I would imagine support for outlawing abortion among Mississippians is not too closely aligned with the rest of the country,” Ramachandran said. “However, this support may be meaningless unless we can encourage our lawmakers to legalize abortion access by passing a law and not have to rely on an almost-50-year-old ruling to provide access to critical healthcare services.”
The gathering in Oxford will take place at the RSVP Plaza, the steps next to Oxford City Hall at 10 a.m. The gathering will include speeches, music, chants and possibly yoga.
“We’re just making some presence,” Kellum said. “The majority of people in America do not want Roe v. Wade overturned. However, it’s easy to forget that, because it’s not very visible. We’re looking forward to it.”
