Hundreds turned out to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s rally in Madison for reproductive rights Friday night as the representative made rounds to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris.
AOC came to the Orpheum Theater in downtown Madison on Sept. 27 to a rally for the Harris-Walz campaign centered on reproductive rights, a focal point in Harris-Walz’s platform, as Democrats push to finally codify access in the wake of states across the country that have formed their own policies. Her visit comes as part of the Harris-Walz campaign’s “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” bus tour.
The crowd was largely young, but all ages were present, including families, as Wisconsinites continued to attend rallies with excitement to capitalize on its importance in this year’s presidential election.
Representative Ocasio-Cortez was joined by Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin; Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President Tanya Atkinson; Gov. Tony Evers; Kate Cox, a Texas mother who has been sharing her story for access to reproductive care after the state denied her emergency abortion care; and Samantha Crowley, a University of Wisconsin-Madison medical student with a passion for reproductive health and health policy.
“It’s been two years since our right to choose and our bodily autonomy has been taken from us, and pregnant women and people across the country have had their lives put at risk since that ruling,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “It’s been two years since our freedom over our bodies was seized by the most corrupt Supreme Court appointed by the most corrupt president in American history.”
Ocasio-Ortez recounted her own story of sexual assault while she worked as a waitress in New York City. After she was sexually assaulted and late on her period, she remembered waiting to see the results of a pregnancy test.
“In that moment, in those three minutes, one clear beaming thought went through as I held that stick, ‘Thank God I have a choice,’” Ocasio-Cortez said.
She continued to note the importance of reproductive health services, like Planned Parenthood, through another story about her mother. She recalls the story told to her of her mother finding out she was pregnant with Ocasio-Cortez at a Planned Parenthood. Her mother was able to weigh her decisions for what she wanted and ultimately chose to carry Ocasio-Cortez to term — but it was a choice allotted to her mother then.
Access to reproductive rights has garnered increased attention over the past few years.
In Wisconsin, the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and constitutional protections for abortion back to previous 1849 laws. The law banned abortions in the state with no exceptions for rape or incest.
During that time, Gov. Evers noted at the rally that when there were no abortion providers, there was a 330% rate of women traveling to Illinois for reproductive care.
“Millions of women in America today are treated like second-class citizens. All across the country, Republican politicians who know nothing about your family, your faith, your health or your circumstances are trying to take away your reproductive freedom,” Gov. Evers said. “Up until not that long ago in Wisconsin, women were experiencing firsthand what it meant to live in a state that bans nearing all abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.”
Pro-Palestinian protestors point at the irony of the rally during an ongoing genocide.
Three pro-Palestian protesters showed up to the rally wearing keffiyehs. Immediately, they felt eyes on them and were soon approached by staff at the rally about their attire, according to the protesters.
While none of them outwardly chanted during the rally, they moved to the back about halfway through Ocasio-Cortez’s speech where they silently held up a banner that read “Free Palestine” and “no money for war crimes.”
The banners were seized quickly after they held it up and were escorted out of the rally. The protesters call the rally for reproductive freedom ironic as all hospitals in Gaza have been bombed — leaving no access to reproductive health for women.
“Again, Democrats are just showing that they like to be progressive on every issue except Palestine,” said Kareem Mayouf, one of the protesters. “We want to send a message to AOC. The message we really want to send is Democrats will not fearmonger and gaslight us and browbeat us into voting for them because of the quote, unquote, ‘lesser evil’ when they’re supporting genocide.”
Mayouf said he, and many others, will not give in to demands to vote Democrat. He notes the efforts in Wisconsin for the “uninstructed vote” earlier this year. Voters then protested at the polls through their vote by marking “uninstructed” or “uncommitted” on their ballots.
