Dr. Jenna Tosh, CEO of Planned Parenthood Central Coast, speaks at a De la Guerra rally after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion overruling Roe v. Wade. The organization will hold another rally there Saturday.
A rally in support of abortion access and the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at De la Guerra Plaza.
The “Bans Off Our Bodies Rally and March,” hosted by Planned Parenthood Central Coast and Women’s March Santa Barbara, comes on the heels of the leak of a recent U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion overruling the landmark abortion case.
“The shocking Supreme Court draft decision confirmed what we have long feared: The right to safe, legal abortion in this country will soon be a thing of the past,” said Dr. Jenna Tosh, CEO of Planned Parenthood Central Coast. “Everyone deserves access to abortion, no matter where they live, and everyone should be able to make their own personal medical decisions.”
“The politicians who want to take away our freedom to control our lives and our futures will see that we aren’t intimidated, and we aren’t backing down,” Dr. Tosh continued.
In addition to the Santa Barbara rally, an event is planned for Plaza Park at 651 E. Thompson Road in Ventura and at the San Luis Obispo Superior Court at 1050 Monterey St. on Saturday as well.
The Ventura rally, in conjunction with AIDS Walk Ventura County and Diversity Collective, is at 1 p.m. Like the Santa Barbara event, the San Luis Obispo rally is at noon.
Opinions — which are the court’s decisions on a case typically including lengthy writings about history and law — are not final until a formal opinion is handed down, and drafts are often circulated as deliberations occur and can change. Opinions are issued before the final day of the court’s term. The court typically announces its decisions in June.
The leaked draft opinion was authored by Justice Samuel Alito, considered to be a more conservative voice on the bench.
Republicans and anti-abortion advocates celebrated the news of the draft opinion.
“Justice Alito’s draft decision is a hopeful sign that the Supreme Court might be poised to correct its disastrous Roe v. Wade ruling that fabricated a ‘right’ to abortion violence in the Constitution,” California Right to Life director of outreach Mary Rose Short previously told the News-Press. “As Alito so thoroughly explains, there is not and has never been a constitutional right to kill unborn human beings.”
The rally was promoted by the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party, which said it will host Get Out the Vote events at its campaign office this weekend as well.
“For now, abortion is still legal, and Roe is the law of the land. But if the conservatives on the court get their way, it will open the door for Republican lawmakers to institute abortion bans,” the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party said in an email promoting the event.
The Santa Barbara County Democratic Party campaign events are scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
email: kschallhorn@newspress.com
