by Selene Ashewood ‘22

Kenzie Samartzis ’22 and Megan Carbon ’22 (left to right) at a DC rally for reproductive rights on October 2, 2021

A cross-country defense for reproductive rights in response to the near ban on abortions out of Texas took the form of big and small rallies on October 2. The day saw more than 600 demonstrations nationwide, according to the Planned Parenthood Instagram page. The largest of these rallies of course took place in D.C.. Attendees were in the thousands, including some Sherwood students such as seniors Kenzie Samartzis and Megan Carbone who traveled to the city in order to make their voices heard. 

“As a woman, having a sister, a mom, and peers here, it’s important that our bodies are protected and that we have a right over what we say,” said Samartzis. Because of the historical legal difficulties pregnancy termination has faced, the “right to choose” has not been on safe ground in a number of U.S. states in recent years.  However, the passing of a very restrictive Texas law was a shock to many at a time when the Supreme Court now has a 6-3 conservative majority. 

“I think after Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, it was definitely something that worried me,” said Samartzis. Ginsburg was fiercely pro-choice, a contrast to the new judge in her place, Amy Coney Barret. Barrett’s less definitive views on gender equality, along with the Supreme Court’s shift to conservative majority after Ginsburg passed, gave reason for women to be more “on their toes,” in Samartzis’s words. 

Carbone marched for the same reasons as her protest partner, citing the fact that “if we ever had to make a difficult decision such as that, we should have the right to.” She also acknowledged the factor of location in her civic activity, with the circumstance to live less than an hour away from the hub of American democracy. “It makes the travel way easier …When you’re so local I don’t see a reason not to go and not to participate … It’s really important to take advantage of these opportunities we have.”

For Carbone, “the goal is letting people have a right to choose and to keep Roe v. Wade intact so we can all have control over our own bodies.” Newly passed Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8) in Texas caused this spike in reproductive rights activism. The bill allows any private citizen to sue somebody for performing an abortion after a six week pregancy period, which has been described by critics as irresponsibly short. But in a miniature win for the pro-choice movement, Federal judge Robert Pitman temporarily blocked the enforcement of S.B. 8 on October 6. That is, before it was nullified by an overruling which reinstated the law in its entirety.