{"id":48235,"date":"2019-05-21T11:28:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T19:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/hundreds-protest-war-on-women-anti-abortion-laws\/"},"modified":"2019-05-22T14:50:20","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T22:50:20","slug":"hundreds-protest-war-on-women-anti-abortion-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/hundreds-protest-war-on-women-anti-abortion-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds protest ‘war on women,’ anti-abortion laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t

Susan Baxter has been demonstrating about abortion rights for 51 years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Baxter, now 70, said that recent attempts to ban abortion in the United States have been disheartening after she’s been so vocal and involved for half a century. Two emotions have stood out to her as she’s seen anti-abortion legislation sweep the country.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Outrage,” Baxter said. “Sorrow.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

[Live coverage: ‘Stop the Bans’ rally in Juneau]<\/a><\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Baxter was one of more than 300 people who gathered at the Dimond Courthouse plaza across the street from the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday. The “Stop the Bans” rally was done in conjunction with many other groups across the nation to make a statement about their opposition to proposed laws that outlaw abortion.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/a>

People attend a rally against anti-abortion laws at the Dimond Courthouse Plaza on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t

In Alaska, Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, proposed House Bill 178 recently, which would criminalize abortion<\/a>. The bill can’t be heard until January 2020 because regular legislative session has ended for 2019, but the introduction of the bill has still caused a stir around the state.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Co-organizers<\/a> Samantha Cox and Alyson Currey spoke first, leading the crowd in chants and giving a general overview of the situation around the country and in the state.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Each one of you here, each one of us, has a great responsibility to speak up, to speak out and to demonstrate the kind of respect and compassion that we wish to see reflected in the laws going forward,” Cox said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Juneau resident Cate Ross shared her story, of having an abortion when she was 20, when she felt she was unprepared to raise a child. Years later, she again got pregnant and made the decision to continue the pregnancy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“If I had not had a choice when I was 20, I would not be where or who I am today,” Ross said. “If I did not have a choice two summers ago, I would have felt lost instead of empowered.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

There was a small group of counter-demonstrators who stood quietly outside the crowd with pro-life signs.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

There was a pro-choice rally in Anchorage on Saturday. At the same time as Juneau’s rally, there was a rally in Fairbanks. Multiple legislators were at the rally in Juneau, including Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, D-Anchorage. Spohnholz, the co-chair of the House Health and Social Services Committee, told The Associated Press last week that she will refuse to hear HB 178 next session. Spohnholz didn’t speak at the rally like some other legislators, but stood and watched from the sidewalk above.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

[‘Beyond Senate Bill 91’: Crime bill would put more people in prison longer<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Rep. Sara Hannan and Sen. Jesse Kiehl, two Juneau Democrats, both gave speeches that earned big ovations. Hannan reflected on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which ruled that state abortion bans are unconstitutional. She remembered being a young girl when it happened, and that her mother told her, “you have choices in this life that no women before you have ever had.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t