Activists To Rally In Minneapolis To Keep ‘Bans Off Our Bodies’

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Activists and residents from across the Twin Cities region are set to rally Saturday in Minneapolis to defend reproductive rights and send a “clear message” to federal lawmakers and the U.S. Supreme Court.

The “Bans Off Our Bodies” rally is scheduled to start with a march at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The half-mile march will be followed by a rally starting at noon in Loring Park.

Dozens of community groups and activist organizations from the area are partnering to mobilize Minnesota residents to defend reproductive rights.

Those groups include Women’s March MN, Unrestrict MN, Gender Justice, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice MN, First Unitarian Society, Our Justice, Edina Indivisible, Take Action Minnesota, the Indigenous Peoples Task Force, Reproductive Health Access Network Minnesota and many others.

“We need to stop bans like the one in (Texas) from spreading,” organizers said in an event posting. “Alongside others across the nation, we will march, rally, fight and be heard. Let’s send a clear message to the Supreme Court and all those who seek to strip citizens of their rights that reproductive rights are human rights.”

Numerous similar protests are planned across the country for Saturday ahead of the Supreme Court reconvening for its new term Monday. Rallies are scheduled in Anoka, Brainerd, St. Cloud, Morris, Grand Marais, Duluth and St. Louis Park.

Texas has enacted a restrictive new law that bans abortions at about six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant. The law effectively ends Roe v. Wade protections in the state, NPR reports.

Texas’ abortion ban does not provide exceptions in cases of rape or incest.

Though the U.S. Supreme Court has set precedents that prohibit states from banning abortion before fetal viability, which usually occurs between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy, the court last month denied a request from Texas abortion providers to block the state’s new law barring abortion after six weeks.

“We cannot allow the reality of Texas to become the reality of this country,” the Planned Parenthood Minnesota Advocate wrote on Facebook. “We must fight city by city, state by state, to ensure that people can still access the health care they need.”

The event in Minneapolis will be following strict coronavirus-related protocols, with all attendees required to wear masks.

Organizers had hoped to stage their rally for reproductive rights outside the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, but the Twin Cities Marathon had long since reserved the area.

Click here for more information about the "Bans Off Our Bodies" rally Saturday in Minneapolis.