Published as: "Tulsa pro-choice advocates protest Supreme Court's draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade" on May 3, 2022
As the Supreme Court’s indication that it may be ready to overturn Roe v. Wade prompted nationwide protests, hundreds of pro-choice advocates gathered in front of the Tulsa County Courthouse on Tuesday to join the voices demanding that abortion remain legal.
The protest also coincided with Gov. Kevin Stitt’s signing of the “fetal heartbeat” bill that bans abortions at the detection of a “fetal heartbeat,” usually at about six weeks.
“It is scary to know women and young girls will not have access to abortions,” said Jeana Acosta, founder of Dope Women + Weed and co-organizer of Tuesday’s protest. “The fact that Governor Stitt that did not exclude rape and incest is horrific. We cannot allow legislators to force women and girls to carry children they don’t want or that could harm them.”
The “fetal heartbeat” bill makes an exception for abortions to save the life of the mother.
Acosta said an end to abortion in Oklahoma would also add to the list of rights getting stripped from women, including access to overall affordable health care, equal pay, expensive menstrual products and more.
Carmen Marie WhiteEagle, vice chair of Northeast Oklahoma Indigenous Safety & Education, an advocacy group in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People movement, led the crowd of protesters in chants like “abortion is health care” and “no bans on stolen land” demanding access to abortion and adequate health care.
She said GOP efforts to strip women of reproductive rights like abortion and birth control is another attempt to marginalize portions of society.
All these things are continuing to create intersections of risk and marginalization,” WhiteEagle said. “When we create those areas of risk, we’re really telling a section of society that we don’t care, that they aren’t valued.”
Banning abortion on Oklahoma will only serve to persecute poor and marginalized women, she said, as privileged people will be able to travel to other states to receive abortions.
LeeAnn Crosby, director of Tulsa Women’s March who also co-organized Tuesday’s protest, said women and girls who are unable to go out of state for abortions may try to have abortions on their own.
“Girls are going to take a thousand Vitamin C pills to try to self-induce an abortion, or, this,” Crosby said while holding up a wire hanger. “We’re going to have a lot of botched abortions.”
Dillon O’Carroll, a Tulsa native, said abortion is health care, and it’s not men’s job to limit access to health care for women, but it is to raise their voices in support of health care for all genders.
“Once the state starts to control one body part, it can start to control every body part,” he said. “It’s important for all people of all genders to advocate for accessible health care. Men don’t need to limit health care for any gender, and we need to make health care accessible for all genders.”
WhiteEagle said seeing people like O’Carroll, who came to offer their support no matter their own situation, makes people feel seen.
“It makes me feel not alone in my fight and concern,” she said. “We want to see people maintain their rights that they’ve fought for so far.”