Senator Elizabeth Warren (Photo/Karen Stokes)
By Karen Stokes
On the second anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Lt Governor Sara Rodriguez, State Senator LaTonya Johnson, and Amanda Zurawski, gathered for a town hall discussion in Milwaukee to mobilize Wisconsin voters.
Reminding those in attendance that the road to the White House goes through Wisconsin, the discussion focused on the importance of the Dobbs decision and the upcoming November presidential election.
“When the Dobbs decision came down I knew that it would affect women’s health substantially,” Rodriguez said. “We just saw some research from Texas talking about maternal infant mortality and now they can look at the decision and the restrictions of reproductive healthcare and how it’s affected women’s and children’s lives and we have high instances of maternal and infant mortality very directly because of this decision.”
Senator LaTonya Johnson shared a personal story about her mom who gave birth to her at 15 years of age and that she came from four generations of teenage moms. But because of Planned Parenthood and the knowledge and education she received, she was the first in her family to graduate college, purchase a house, become a business owner, and now a state senator.
Amanda Zurawski shares her personal story on how the Dobbs decision negatively affected her family (Photo/Karen Stokes)
“If there’s anybody out there who thinks that family planning isn’t important and the crucial role that Planned Parenthood plays in that, I’m living proof that that is a lie,” Johnson said.
Senator Warren was on tour Monday in Milwaukee and Madison to energize Democrats.
“I’m here because Joe Biden fights for abortion access so I fight for Joe Biden. Joe Biden fights for access to contraceptives so I fight for Joe Biden. Joe Biden fights for access to IVF so I fight for Joe Biden. Joe Biden fights for freedom to make your own decisions,” she said. “If Trump takes the White House, if Republicans get control of Congress, they’re coming for abortion everywhere, they’re coming for contraceptives, they’re coming for IVF.”
Most women in America lived in the country knowing that they had the right to choose. Never believing that right would be taken away. Amanda Zurawski directly faced the consequences of Trump’s abortion bans and nearly died as a result. Zurawski is from Texas.
Zurawski shared her story “I live in Austin and I was pregnant with my first baby. This was a baby my husband and I wanted desperately because we went through a year and a half of fertility treatment. I unfortunately suffered complications at 18 weeks and we found out with certainty that we were going to lose this baby. The nearly total abortion ban went into effect two days after my water broke so I had to wait until I met with one of the rare exceptions in Texas that I was allowed treatment, which was the life of the mother. It was three days before I crashed with sepsis. I went into sepsis shock twice before I could get the healthcare I needed because an abortion would be considered illegal because the baby’s heart was still beating so I stabilized enough that I could deliver the baby. I was transferred to the ICU and survived several transfusions. I stayed in the hospital for a week.”
Amanda Zurawski shares her personal story on how the Dobbs decision negatively affected her family (Photo/Karen Stokes)
“This is such a critical issue that our rights and our freedoms are on the ballot this year,” said Zurawski.
“The Supreme Court will not have the final word, the final word will come from the ballot box,” Warren said. “I want you to think about power. The power of six people who lied to the American public and who decided the constitutional protection that has been there for half a century evaporated just like that. Six people and how much power they have. There are so many things that happen in the world that you and I can’t fix but this one, we have the power. We have a chance, come November 5, 2024, if you care about Roe v Wade, being the law of the land, if you care about access to IVF, full access to contraceptives, about a rape victim getting the medical care she needs if you care, you have the power. Go to the polls, you will change the course of this country. So on November 5, you’re going to the polls and fighting for Wisconsin by voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”