Genevieve Hawkins arrived at Savannah City Hall Saturday afternoon dancing to a drum beat with chants of “my body, my choice” and “no justice, no peace.” Hawkins’ afternoon did not start in Forsyth Park like the more than 100 others chanting and marching alongside her.
Hawkins was leaving synagogue at Congregation Mickve Israel on Monterey Square when the pink signs and hats accompanied by the drums and chants came through. Hawkins then decided to join the crowd.
"It's a really fun way to express yourself because you aren't hurting anyone," Hawkins said. "But I really believe in this cause, because I am a mother of five children."
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Savannah's "Bigger than Roe" march was part of marches nationwide in honor of the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that provided a fundamental right to abortion. The anniversary of Roe v. Wade is in two days on Jan. 22, but the U.S. Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
The nationwide demonstrations come one day after the anti-abortion March for Life was held in Washington, D.C. Friday.
Hawkins, who first became pregnant at 19, said she considered an abortion but ultimately couldn't make the choice for herself. But through the experience, she learned no one else should make the decision for those considering it, she said.
"I would have never wanted someone to make that choice for me," she said.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Savannah’s march started with a rally at the Forsyth Park fountain, and about 160 people gathered around for speakers such as Rep. Anne Allen Westbrook and Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones among others. It was organized by the Savannah Federation for Democratic Women, which formed locally after a women’s rights march in October 2021.
“I think it shows our representatives that this topic is important, that our rights matter,” said Morgan Pikaard, president of the Savannah Federation of Democratic Women.
The various speakers and supporters rallied for about 40 minutes before the line of people took down Bull Street’s eastern sidewalk to City Hall. As the abortion rights marchers made their way along the route, people inside Gallery Espresso on Chippewa Square looked through the window at the march, others waiting outside the Collins Quarter on Bull Street and Oglethorpe Avenue pulled out phones to capture the stream of people.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Speakers at the pre-march rally criticized anti-abortion laws and encouraged people to vote. One of the primary aims of the Savannah Federation of Democratic Women is to get Democrats elected down the ballot, Pikaard said. The Coastal Georgia League of Women Voters also had a table at the event for voter outreach.
During a speech, Jones said that she could not foresee a circumstance where she would put a woman or a healthcare provider in jail for "exercising their right to medical care." Georgia's abortion law, commonly referred to as a "heartbeat bill," prohibits most abortions except in the early weeks of pregnancy.
"Doctors, women who make healthcare choices do not belong in the criminal justice system," Jones said. "Women, who are using their best resources available to them in society, do not deserve to be looking down the barrel of prosecution and the criminal justice system."
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah march joins nationwide recognition of upcoming Roe v. Wade anniversary
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