Hundreds gather in Olympia to protest Supreme Court decision leaked on Monday
Hundreds of people rallied at the Temple of Justice on the Capitol Campus in Olympia on Tuesday night in protest of the leaked drafts of a majority Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, published Monday night by Politico.
The crowd that included local politicians gathered on the Washington Supreme Court steps at 5 p.m., and were later joined by another large group of protesters who marched to the temple from another location.
State Rep. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, former House Rep. Beth Doglio and Rep. Laurie Dolan, D-Olympia, were joined by Gov. Jay Inslee, Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, Sen. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, Thurston County Commissioner Carolina Mejia, and Olympia City Council member Lisa Parshley as they rallied and addressed the crowd.
“While other states have been rolling back this fundamental right, we passed legislation to ensure Washington maintains a safety net of abortion providers, and enhanced protections for the right to choose in our state,” Bateman told the crowd. “In the 2022 legislative session, we struck down multiple bills that attempted to limit or prohibit access to abortion.”
Bateman noted that the legislature passed House Bill 1851 this year to protect women’s rights to abortion in the state. The bill was sponsored by Rep. My-Linh Thai, D-Bellevue, and prevents those seeking abortion and those who assist people in finding access to abortions from facing legal percussions.
Olympia City Council member Lisa Parshley said that in the 1980s she used to work to escort women into a Planned Parenthood in Portland for counseling because people would throw rocks at women seeking services. She said her nieces take the services available to them now for granted.
“Yesterday, that all changed,” Parshley said, referencing the leaked decision. “We just indoctrinated a new generation of women into this fight.”
She said that while Washingtonians are “potentially” safe, people should not be afraid to engage with people in other states.
Olympia resident Jami Heinricher said she was at the rally because she was upset about what the leaked opinion will mean.
“I think a lot of us expected this to happen for a long time, but it’s devastating,” Heinricher said. “I don’t think people realize just how toxic and devastating this is to communities across the United States.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 10:04 PM.
