Story by Sandhya Maddali // she/her // IG: sandhyamad Twitter: sandhyaxo
Graphic by Maju Marinho // she/they // IG: @majusaccount
Trigger warning: sexual assault
As I walked up the hill to the Texas Capitol on the morning of October 2nd, it became clear that I’d underestimated the sheer scale of the Women’s March. The grounds were packed with people. Right in front of the Capitol was a big stage. There were various booths for voter registration, reproductive rights organizations, political campaigns, and other groups lining the Capitol’s central walkway.
I found a spot in the crowd where I could see the stage just as a new speaker, city council candidate Pooja Sethi, walked up to the podium. The crowd listened in rapt silence as Sethi told a story about Poorvi*, an Asian-American college student who was sexually assaulted. When Poorvi eventually realized that she was pregnant, she scheduled an appointment with Planned Parenthood for an abortion that would’ve been considered illegal under Senate Bill 8.
Senate Bill 8 (SB8) essentially bans any abortion procedure 6 weeks after conception, including cases of rape or incest. The bill also effectively deputizes citizens, giving them the right to sue other citizens who were involved in the process of administering or receiving an abortion. Though the bill was recently blocked by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman, the block is only temporary, and many other states have begun to draft similar bills which heavily restrict abortion access. It has recently been unblocked in a 5-4 vote by the Supreme Court.
A number of other speakers came to the podium to talk about the terrible effects of SB8. An OB/GYN named Vanessa Yem relayed the story of a patient who was pregnant with a child that would inevitably die due to a chromosomal anomaly. Though abortion is always offered as a choice in these cases, the patient was unable to find anywhere to abort in Texas because of SB8. Speakers, ranging from candidates running for various positions and representatives for women’s rights funds, like the Lilith Fund, took the stage and voiced their anger toward SB8.
There were also a number of musicians present. The Black hip-hop duo Riders Against the Storm gave a powerful performance, and Latin Grammy nominee Gina Chavez performed as well. The performances were all very poignant in their own ways and added a lot of energy and emotion to the protest.
Protest signs read “Protect Trans and Non-binary Bodies. Fight for BIPOC lives.” These certainly brought attention to the label “Women’s March,” because it isn’t just women who need reproductive rights. The wording and branding surrounding the march was certainly exclusionary, and that is something that certainly must be criticized. The whole premise focused on the word “women,” and all of the merchandise and signs continued to perpetuate that, without acknowledging the other people that are fighting for their reproductive rights, such as nonbinary or trans people.
As the protest began to disband, I saw a small group of counter protesters with pro-life signs and banners. Their efforts were made completely futile because a group of pro-choice protestors had rushed to hide them and drown out their chants. It was inspiring to watch counter protestors stand dejectedly with their “I am the pro-life generation” signs, and it simply underscored the positive impact that the march had towards the fight for reproductive justice.
