Roe V Wade Protest Dunedin

Here are the photos from Saturday's event!

If anyone is uncomfortable with one of the photos, please comment and let me know that you'd like it removed. 💚

Kia Ora everyone!

Since we are only a day out from the protest, we thought we would post some gentle reminders. In terms of the weather tomorrow, the event will be going ahead regardless! We don’t want to postpone the protest again as we feel the issue is extremely important in the current news. The protest will be from 11am – 12pm so standing under umbrellas for an hour is always an option... as our parents used to say, the rain won’t kill you. There are plenty of cafes around the Octagon to go for coffee afterwards if you need to warm up. Rain or shine, we will be there!
Secondly, and probably the most important thing, please remember to be kind and respectful! We have had people expressing their interest in attending but have specified that they will be wearing masks and would prefer to be distanced from others. We completely understand if people want to do this, and we can only hope that all attendees will be respectful of their decision. We also do not want any slander or harassment thrown at the speakers. Their willingness to speak and share their opinions is something that will make the event great, and we appreciate all of them! Topics such as sexual assault/violence will be covered in some speeches, so if you are triggered by this, we understand if you want to remove yourself at this time. Regarding everyone’s opinions, they may be the same, or they may be completely different. Either way, listen, take on board what people are offering and respond respectfully. Taking it right back to primary school, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.

Thirdly, we don’t want to worry anyone but may encounter a few counter protesters at the event. We have been warned about this and have been told some people may try and get up in our faces to discourage us from using our voices. Our main piece of advice for this is to simply ignore them. We can’t stop these people from attending, so we must let what we are saying go and let our voices rise above them. You could use chants to become louder than them if need be! There’s a list of potential chants below. Have a look and use them tomorrow if you would like (ideally not when our speakers are talking, though).

We are super happy with how the event looks so far, and if we have all our supporters show up and technology works in our favour, we are hopeful that this protest will be amazing! We couldn’t do it without all of you, so we hope to see you all there tomorrow! 💚

WHO’S COMING? (Part 3)

We are super excited to let you all know that we are working with Thursdays in Black Otago! Thursdays in Black is a student-led movement working towards a world free from sexual violence. They believe sexual violence is a significant problem on tertiary campuses but holds hope that a different reality is possible. Thursdays in Black Otago believe the way to change statistics about sexual violence is to: see, acknowledge, understand, and address these issues. We think this is extremely important and relevant for the awareness we want to raise with this protest. Thursdays in Black are also passionate about providing education and conversation about the issue of sexual violence on tertiary campuses. Hence, we are lucky to have Amelia Hamilton from the group who will be speaking at the event.

Amelia is the Director of Thursdays in Black Otago and is passionate about bringing awareness to the issue of sexual violence on tertiary campuses. Amelia is in her fifth year of my double degree of an LLB and BA (Politics) with a keen interest in Human Rights. She strongly believes survivors, and everyone who can be pregnant, deserve reproductive freedom and access. Amelia hopes to see a world free from sexual violence and do what she can to make that a reality.

WHO'S COMING? (Part 2)

Some of you may have already figured this out, but we would like to introduce you to Georgia Hawthorne who will also be speaking at Saturday's event! Georgia came up with the idea of this protest after hearing about the overturning of Roe v Wade and considered how abortion was only removed from the crimes act two years ago.
Georgia has completed a BA with a major in history, and a double minor in philosophy and anthropology. She is currently in her first year of a Social Work master's.

Georgia is very passionate about women's issues and mental health. She is especially passionate about raising awareness around sexual assault on campuses so what better way to do it than this!

Georgia we love everything that you've done so far and we can't wait to hear what you have to say on Saturday

WHO'S COMING? (Part 1)

It is our pleasure to introduce you all to Kaitlyn Ratcliff! Kaitlyn is an Honours student at the University of Otago and we are lucky that she is available to speak at Saturday's event. Kaitlyn is incredibly passionate about feminism and abortion rights in particular. When she's not battling the cold realities of student life, Kaitlyn hosts a podcast on Spotify called Coming Of Age.

In particular, episode three is called "where have my rights gone?" The description of this episode reads: amidst the week post the overturning of roe v wade in the US, I reflect on what it is like to live day by day as a woman in society and how uterus owners are held under constant and unwanted systemic control. do we really have rights? Feel free to copy the link below and have a listen!

Kaitlyn, we think it is super awesome that you are using your voice to spread awareness and can't wait to see what you have to say on Saturday!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ENuS900csyONhbGZNMkX3?si=TaKI5Ie4SlSs0rP49dMFdw

Respect her choice!

We also want to make a post to remind protest attendees to respect others' choices at the event! With the Covid-19 Pandemic still affecting us, we completely understand if people would like to wear masks or practice social distancing at the event. However, because it is an outdoor space, this is NOT mandatory. We don't expect people to wear a mask and can't guarantee that a 2m distance can be kept between each person. But, if you want to take these precautions yourself, we understand! 💚

We should also reiterate that if you are unwell, as much as we would appreciate the support, please stay at home as we do not want the event to be a super spreader.

See you Saturday 💚

IT'S CONFIRMED!

We have confirmed the new date for the Roe vs. Wade protest in Dunedin! The event will take place on Saturday the 16th July at 11am in the lower Octagon. 😁

We're currently busy trying to get all of the plans sorted but do have a couple of ideas in mind for the day. First off, come on down to the lower Octagon (we've popped in a screenshot of where this is) with your signs and let your voices be heard! We'll have some music going in the background to break the ice but it is also a great chance to meet like-minded people. We are also lucky enough to have a couple of people from the Dunedin area lined up to speak at the event and we're sure their ideas will be of interest to all of you! Although the topic is serious, we still want to make the event fun, so... we would love it if you would get involved and make Tik Toks with us! We'll post these on the page after the event for everyone to see the awesome work we got up to!

Please keep checking in with our page as more plans will be confirmed over the coming days! Please also cross your fingers and toes so that the rain stays away this time. Share the event with your friends/family and we'll see you all on Saturday 💚

FINAL DECISION...

Unfortunately, we have decided to POSTPONE today's protest. We are so sorry for any inconvenience this has caused for all of our supporters!

However, I'm sure you can all appreciate that the circumstances cannot be helped and the decision has not been made lightly.

We are planning to postpone the event until SATURDAY THE 16TH JULY. We will confirm a time within the next couple of days!

Please share this around with anyone that you knew was coming.

Again, we are SO SORRY but we hope to see you all next week... along with the sunshine!!!

IMPORTANT!!!

Hi everyone. Extremely sorry about the short notice but we are considering postponing the protest for today due to the weather and other unforeseen circumstances involving the organisers. 🌧

WE WILL CONFIRM THIS DECISION BETWEEN 9:30am AND 10am SO HOLD TIGHT

Some of you may have noticed a theme with our posts... they are all green! Why?

Well.. the colour green became a symbol of resistance to anti-abortion laws during pro-abortion activist efforts in Argentina. Then it was taken up by organizers in other Latin American countries, and it has since spread around the world.
Read more here (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-24/why-do-people-wear-green-at-abortion-rallies-the-green-wave-explained)

We reckon it would be awesome if people could wear green tomorrow.. any shade.. any form of clothing. However, we just want to let you know it's only encouraged and not expected! If you don't have any green, wear whatever else you feel comfortable in!
See you there 😄💚

How Green Became the International Color of Abortion Rights As abortion-rights activists took to the streets to protest the Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade on Friday, some wore green scarves, shirts and other pieces of clothing. Others held up signs with green lettering or background.

Hi everyone!

Given the forecasted weather for tomorrow, we've decided it will be best to stay with a rough timeline of 11am - 12pm for the protest tomorrow in Dunedin. People are welcome to stay around afterwards, however, we will not be responsible for those who choose to do so.

We are hoping the rain won't dampen your moods and we'll still see all of you in the Octagon at 11am. Umbrella's welcome 😆

This time tomorrow we hope you will have your signs made and be ready to head down to the Octagon to let your voices be heard.
We'll be there.... will you?

Friday 8th of July. 11am.
Will you be there?

It is anticipated that 26 states will outlaw abortion as soon as it is practical. Abortion will be prohibited throughout the majority of the South and Midwest as a result. According to research, almost 1 in 4 American women would have been expected to have an abortion at some point in their life had Roe been upheld. About 1 in 10 women who get an abortion are teenagers, with most being in their 20s.

The right to choose an abortion and have quality care is a basic need that affects so many individuals. We want to stand in solidarity with America. Will you join us?

Why are we organizing this protest?
Well... here is a really simple overview. We are not just pro-choice. We are pro-standing up for what you believe in. Are you? Will you make sure your voice is heard?..

Keep up to date with the rest of our posts to learn more information about the meaning behind the Roe vs. Wade movement and why we think it's important to stand in solidarity with America.

You have a voice. Will you use it? Will you fight with us?

It’s not just cisgender women and girls who need abortions

This decision affects intersex people, transgender men and boys, and people with other gender identities who have the reproductive capacity to become pregnant.

They may face stigma and biased views in the provision of healthcare, as well as presumptions that they do not need access to contraception and abortion-related information and services.

In some contexts, 28% transgender and gender non-conforming individuals report facing harassment in medical settings, and 19% report being refused medical care altogether due to their transgender status, with even higher numbers among communities of colour.

1 in 4 pregnancies end in abortion every year while around 25 MILLION unsafe abortions take place each year.

Preventing women and girls from accessing an abortion does not mean they stop needing one. That’s why attempts to ban or restrict abortions do nothing to reduce the number of abortions, it only forces people to seek out unsafe abortions

Criminalisation and restrictive laws on abortion prevent health-care providers from doing their job properly and from providing the best care options for their patients. Criminalisation of abortion also deters women and girls from seeking post-abortion care for complications due to unsafe abortion or other pregnancy related complications.

Let our voices be heard!

Roe V Wade was a ruling made in 1973 and at the time was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States generally protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion. This decision was over turned on the 25th or June thanks to Neil M. Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas,Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel A. Alito, Jr and Amy Coney Barrett.

Twenty-six states are expected to do so immediately, or as soon as practicable. This will make abortion illegal across most of the south and midwest.

In these states, women and other people who can become pregnant will need to either travel hundreds of miles to reach an abortion provider or self-manage abortions at home through medication or other means.

Let us come together on Friday the 8th of July to have our voices heard and stand up against this injustice.