Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
A group of pro-choice protesters march past Queen St.
About 400 pro-choice protesters have shown up in Auckland at a demonstration in support of abortion rights and reproductive freedom.
The march, which started in Aotea Square, was organized so that Kiwis could show their support for the Americans following the Supreme Court’s decision to overthrow Roe v Wadegiving individual states the power to ban abortions.
The decision sparked debate about abortion rights around the world, including: how this might affect the rights of women and people of childbearing potential? in New Zealand.
New Zealand decriminalized abortion two years ago, but MPs from National, Labor and New Zealand First voted against the bill – which passed by 68 votes to 51.
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No party is proposing changes to abortion rights.
GOODS
The organizer of the Wellington abortion rights protest, Madeleine Pietersen Pietersen-Gould, explains why they are protesting the US Supreme Court’s destruction of Roe v Wade.
About 400 people gathered in Aotea Square Saturday afternoon, carrying signs such as “Abortion is health care” and “No uterus, no opinion”.
Another sign read “I chose to have a baby, but I’m glad I had a choice,” while another said: “The Handmaid’s Tale is not a manual”.
A handful of pro-life activists also stood in the square.
A man shouted “the baby is innocent”, which was received by booing from the crowd.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Hundreds of people gathered in Auckland’s Aotea Square for a pro-choice rally.
The group then made their way to Queen Street to cheers from deranged motorists and gathered again outside the U.S. Consulate General on Customs St.
Police were on the scene when the two groups again verbally clashed, with officers urging those involved to “run away” from each other.
The Auckland protest was the latest in a series to support reproductive rights.
Previous protests have been held in Hamilton and Christchurch.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
The protesters marched from Aotea Square to the US consulate.
Protests were also scheduled for Saturday in Napier’s Clive Square and Dunedin’s Octagon.
Danni Wilkinson, a nurse who is studying to become a midwife and one of the organizers of the march, said she was pro-choice because making abortion illegal didn’t stop them from doing it.
Access to reproductive health care, including access to safe abortion, was vital, she said.
“We will fight to make decisions about our own bodies.
“We have to fight for ourselves and for those who can’t.”
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
A sign at the protest reads ‘Abortion is healthcare’.
Protester Sarah Flemming said it should be up to the person whether they want to have children. She said safe and legal access to abortion is a human right.
Flemming’s sign depicted a coat hanger with the words “never again”.
“If You Forbid” [abortion]women will go back to finding ways to abort a child or commit suicide,” she said.
Flemming, who was at the march with her teenagers Isaac and Cass, said she feared the impact of Roe v Wade’s overthrow on New Zealand and the world.
“We can’t let it get here. We’re not going to tolerate it.”
Kerri Hurman said she wanted the New Zealand government to know they had “no place in our wombs”.
She said she was encouraged to see so many men at the march.
Her husband, James Beard, said he was there to support physical autonomy.
“Body autonomy is important and [the Roe v Wade decision] is taking women away.”