Madison to lead over 100 communities in National Women's March for abortion rights
Madison abortion rights activists will lead demonstrators in over 100 communities nationwide during the flagship 2023 National Women’s March event this Sunday at the Wisconsin State Capitol. Feminist activist group Women’s March is one of two groups leading Sunday’s “Bigger than Roe” march for abortion rights. The organization rose to prominence in 2017, when it led 2.6 million people from 32 countries in a mass demonstration for gender equality following Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to USA Today.
Joining Women’s March is the Madison Abortion and Reproductive Rights Coalition for Healthcare (MARRCH), a grassroots organization that’s led numerous local demonstrations for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. MARRCH led a community protest against conservative commentator Matt Walsh’s visit to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in October. The event is scheduled to begin this Sunday at 11 a.m. on Library Mall, according to MARRCH. Demonstrators will then march up State Street to the Capitol, where representatives from Women’s March, MARRCH and over 20 partner organizations will deliver speeches beginning at 1 p.m. The group also plans to hold a “speakout” in the Capitol rotunda for event attendees.
“MARRCH looks forward to having the support of multiple unions… the Women’s March and the people of Madison, in showing Wisconsin politicians that we will not give up our rights to bodily autonomy, reproductive freedom and abortion,” the group said in a statement to the Daily Cardinal. MARRCH previously hosted local chapters of Women’s March demonstrations and is “excited” to host this year’s flagship Women’s March event, spokesperson Amadi Ozier said in an email.
“Wisconsin has been a hot seat of grassroots reproductive justice work for the past six months,” Ozier wrote. “The work that has been done in Wisconsin is a testament to the many similar fights taking place in other battlegrounds across the nation that do not always get the same press attention as larger cities.”
MARRCH plans to make five demands of state and federal lawmakers Sunday, which they shared with the Daily Cardinal:
-Overturn Wisconsin’s 1849 near-total abortion ban.
-Divert a portion of Wisconsin’s more than $6 billion budget surplus to fund travel expenses for pregnant people seeking abortion care in neighboring states.
-Establish a “medically sound” sex education curriculum for all Wisconsin students, including non-binary and trans youth.
-Repeal the Hyde Amendment, a federal policy first passed in 1976 that blocks federal Medicaid funds for abortion care with few exceptions.
-Immediately reopen Wisconsin abortion clinics.
-Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and “several” Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates plan to attend Sunday’s event, according to MARRCH.
Over 100 “sister marches” are scheduled nationwide for Jan. 22, according to a map on the Women’s March website. Three Wisconsin communities — Wausau, Elkhorn and Minocqua — are scheduled to hold events.
https://www.dailycardinal.com/article/2023/01/madison-to-lead-over-100-communities-in-national-womens-march-for-abortion-rights