Supreme Court

Women’s March Holds Nationwide Rallies on 50th Anniversary of Roe By Jenna Russell and Ava Sasani  

Amanee Ahmed

Russell, Jenna, and Ava Sasani. “Women’s March Holds Nationwide Rallies on 50th Anniversary of Roe.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Jan. 2023. 

Jenna Russell joined The New York Times in 2022 as New England bureau chief after more than 20 years at The Boston Globe. A contributor to award-winning projects in both narrative and investigative journalism, she is a co-author of two Globe books. Ava Sasani is a reporter for the National desk, and a part of the New York Times 2022 fellowship class. She has worked at the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe. “Women’s March Holds Nationwide Rallies on 50th Anniversary of Roe.” reports on the Women’s March protests that occurred across America on the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision’s 50th anniversary, which legalized abortion in the country. The article goes into detail on the different speeches made by activists and politicians, musical acts, and marches that took place at the gatherings. The rally messages, which included appeals for reproductive justice, the defense of abortion rights, and an end to gender-based violence and discrimination, were diverse, as were the participants, as highlighted by the writers. The political backdrop for the marches is also covered in the piece, including the recent wave of restrictive abortion legislation that have been implemented in various states and the ongoing court disputes regarding reproductive rights. This newspaper is helpful because it emphasixez the continued importance of Roe v. Wade and the ongoing struggle for reproductive rights and justice.

  1. “They have no idea what happened before — we had no birth control, really,” she said. The court decision “will not stop abortions, it will only kill women,” (Russell, Sasani)
  2. “The other side thinks we should be mourning today,” Ms. Middleton said, drawing boos from the crowd. “They don’t know us. Today we remind them our fight was never just about Roe — our fight is for full reproductive freedom.” (Russell, Sasani)

Our Bodies! Our Choice! Winning the Fight for Reproductive Rights By Evelyn Sell

Amanee Ahmed

Sell, Evelyn. Our Bodies! Our Choice! Winning the Fight for Reproductive Rights. New York, NY: F.I.T, 1991. 

Evelyn Sell founded and served as a state officer for the Texas Abortion Coalition. She is currently a part of the NOW chapter in Los Angeles. Sell, a United Teachers Los Angeles member, and contributed to the formation of the union’s Human Rights Committee. She is a contributing editor of the Fourth Internationalist Tendency’s monthly newspaper, Bulletin in Defense of Marxism. Evelyn Sell explains the background and ongoing fight for abortion rights in the US in “Our Bodies! Our Choice!”. The book makes the case that reproductive rights are a crucial component of women’s autonomy and self-determination and emphasizes how abortion restrictions disproportionately harm marginalized communities, especially low-income women, and women of color. The book concludes by arguing that the fight for abortion rights should continue to be a crucial part of the larger campaign for reproductive justice. This book is useful towards my topic because it talks about the importance of women having control over their own bodies, and that they should have the choice whether they want an abortion or not. 

  1. “Every aspect of a woman’s existence is affected by reproductive choices: her role in society, educational pursuits, job opportunities, physical and mental health, patterns of daily life, and personal relationships.” (Sell)
  2. “The Supreme Court stopped short of actually reversing the 1973 decision on Roe v. Wade but the justices have continued to chop away women’s reproductive rights — with especially disastrous results for poor women, low-paid female workers, youths, and women of color.” (Sell)