Protesters speak out against Supreme Court challenge to Roe

Protesters speak out against Supreme Court challenge to Roe

Organized by Syracuse Democratic Socialists of America, Syracuse Party for Socialism and Liberation, and Stand with Survivors SU, 40 to 60 individuals gathered to chant and share their feelings on the ongoing case.
Published: December 2, 2021
Students gathered outside Hendricks Chapel on Dec. 1, 2021, in hopes of upholding Roe v. Wade, which is gripping national headlines.
Students gathered outside Hendricks Chapel Wednesday night in hopes of upholding Roe v. Wade, which gripped national headlines.

The Supreme court began hearing arguments today regarding the decision whether or not to uphold a controversial Mississippi law banning abortion at 15 weeks. The restriction, which would effectively overturn Roe v. Wade’s promise of federally protected abortion before roughly 23 weeks, has drawn eyes across the nation. Here at Syracuse, protesters gathered outside of Hendricks chapel on Wednesday night to advocate for equitable, accessible abortion in the United States. 

The event, organized by Syracuse Democratic Socialists of America, Syracuse Party for Socialism and Liberation and Stand with Survivors SU featured speakers from all of the participating organizations, ending with an open forum for protesters to articulate their feelings on the precarious judicial battle mounting in Washington. 

As the 40 to 60 protesters gathered around the chapel stairs, they began their demonstration, punctuating each speech with chants ranging from “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Patriarchy has got to go!” to “They say no choice, we say Pro-choice!” 

“We cannot be complacent even though we live in New York state, a fairly liberal democratic state. Our complacency still has ramifications even in New York, if we are complacent. The right-wing anti-choice movement will grow here, and they are here,” said Stephanie Kenific, an organizer with PSL. 

While abortion rights and access were the central topics of discussion, the speakers took care to contextualize their argument in the landscape of capitalism, white supremacy and colonialism. 

“In our patriarchal capitalist America, the concept of private property ownership is inevitably extended to marriage so that men can own and control their wives just as they would any property. This is still the operating logic of our ruling class today. People of color have always suffered the worst of American patriarchal violence,” said Liam Hines, an SU graduate student and member of PSL. 

DSA member Carol Resnik offered up a particularly personal story — that of her sister, who attempted to access an abortion in the pre-Roe era.

“As we started on that journey, my sister happened to have a complication in her pregnancy, a very common one. She started to hemorrhage. We were young, we were scared. We went to the hospital. She was 19 years old. The hospital called my parents. My parents said: Whoa, no way you’re coming home. So my sister got to come home, but she had no choice but to do at that point what my parents demanded,”  Resnik said.

Resnik shared that her sister was eventually able to receive an abortion legally after professing to no less than three psychiatrists that if forced to carry the baby to term, she would take her own life. She eventually terminated her pregnancy in the maternity wing of their local hospital. 

“It could have been different, it could have been [she] died from complications of a messy abortion somewhere. It could have been anything. But if you think about it, even with the relative privilege of a family that had a doctor to help do this, this was incredible emotional damage,” Resnik said. 

Carla Guilliara, a representative of SWSSU, spoke bluntly about the threat to abortion rights.

“Our bodies and reproductive freedoms are under attack. This threat is real and it is ruthless. However, we bite back. We won’t stand idly by, and if we are to fall, we are to go down with fire in our eyes, with passion in our hearts, and with ambition in our minds,” Guilliara said.

Students gathered outside Hendricks Chapel on Dec. 1, 2021, in hopes of upholding Roe v. Wade, which is gripping national headlines.
SU students protest in hopes of upholding Roe v. Wade on Wednesday.