On the steps of the federal courthouse in New Haven Friday night, a representative from the League of Women Voters urged a crowd of abortion-rights supporters to vote.
A voice came from the crowd.
鈥淲e did!鈥�
It was Ugonna Nwakudu, a rising senior at Yale University.
Protestors gathered in New Haven to protest the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, saying the Constitution does not allow for a federal right to abortion.
For Nwakudu, the suggestion to vote felt weak.
鈥淚f the leaders aren鈥檛 receptive to whatever the citizenry are saying, then what鈥檚 the point of voting?鈥�
Nwakudu said she gets why voting still matters but is frustrated by what she called 鈥渁 louder minority鈥� and complicated government structures, like the filibuster.
鈥淎t some point we have to recognize we need more than just voting,鈥� she said.
The Supreme Court鈥檚 decision to overturn almost half a century of legal precedent comes as a majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal in 鈥渁ll or most circumstances,鈥� . Over half of Americans identify as 鈥減ro-choice,鈥�
As the sun beamed down on the steps of the New Haven courthouse, Livia Wallick got up to the microphone to introduce the , one of 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 first and newest abortion funds, to the crowd. It launched June 15.
鈥淎bortion funds raise money for people to access abortion if they can't afford their appointment or need to travel long distances,鈥� Wallick said.
The average cost of the procedure is around $600. But costs will go beyond that for residents who now have to travel out-of-state to access care.
鈥淭hink of it like giving to a food bank. It really feeds the needs of the residents of that state,鈥� Wallick said.
The Reach Fund will help people seeking abortions who live in 黑料吃瓜网 or those. 黑料吃瓜网 lawmakers passed a first-in-the-nation law law earlier this year protecting patients traveling from states that have outlawed abortion.
Donations came in Friday, Wallick said, and the fund is now at about 10% of a long-term fundraising goal.
鈥淏ut there's still a long way to go,鈥� Wallick said. 鈥淭he need for resources to go to abortion funding has existed long before Roe v. Wade was overturned.鈥�
Steph Quainoo took to the microphone on behalf of their local chapter of . The medical student at the Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University said they want to push the conversation among care providers.
鈥淚 believe in the power of the white coat to give an image that the medical community is fighting for the health care rights of everyone,鈥� Quainoo said. Part of that, they said, includes reaching out to medical practitioners and students in , and asking how they can support them.
Quainoo wants to elevate the conversation about maternal mortality outcomes among Black birthing people. Making abortion illegal will not only force some people to give birth, they said, 鈥渂ut pregnancy does a whole bunch of physiological changes to the body that could kill you as evidenced by the mortality rate.鈥�
Nationally, Black birthing people die in pregnancy-related deaths at over three times the rate of white birthing people, . Black babies born to Black mothers in 黑料吃瓜网 are almost twice as likely to die within their first year than the general population, according to .
Protestors flowed into the streets around the New Haven Green, and blocked traffic as they chanted 鈥渕y body, my choice,鈥� and 鈥淏lack lives matter.鈥�
Ju Ju Martin was walking with the crowd, and holding a cardboard sign above her head. After hearing the news Friday, she had just one plan in mind.
鈥淧rotest,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all I can think of at the moment.鈥�
