It was another emotional day of protesting in New Jersey as the reality that the United States Supreme Court has decided that women do not have the constitutional right to have an abortion sets in across the nation.
A group of demonstrators gathered in Fair Lawn on Sunday to advocate for a woman’s right to have autonomy over her own body.
“I believe women’s bodies are their own to make choices on and not the choice of six conservative judges on the Supreme Court,” said an activist named Bonnie.
Bonnie said she has been an activist all of her life. She said that she has experienced a time when abortions were not legal. She said that she feels that women’s rights have been pushed back to how they were 50 years ago.
“I had friends in college and in high school that go abortions that were illegal and almost died. I’ve always been for reproductive rights. I marched 50 years ago in Washington, in New York City – and now here we are again,” Bonnie said .
Demonstrators marched down Fair Lawn Avenue with their signs held high in the air chanting. Some cars passing by honked their horns in solidarity.
“It’s not just, ‘Oh, women can’t have abortion.’ Guess what’s next? Gay rights. Guess what’s next? Contraceptives,” said activist Jessica Henry.
Abortions are still legal in New Jersey under a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this year. The governor said that women will always have a choice over their bodies and the right to make their own medical decisions.
Protestors said they were rallying in New Jersey to show solidarity with those who lost the right to have an abortion because their state has now made it illegal.
“We have these rights before Gov. Murphy has decided that we can have them. If we got some whacko the next time in office, we might not have them,” Henry said.
The demonstrators said that until abortion rights are considered a constitutional right for the entire country, they will not stop fighting for the rights of women.
Meanwhile, hundreds of pro-life advocates also rallied in New Jersey in support of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Rev. Gregory Quinian of the Center for Garden State Families said the group recognizes that nothing has changed in New Jersey.
“New Jersey is a prolific abortion hub. We remain committed to saving lives, lovingly demonstrating that life begins at the moment of conception,” he said in a statement.