Naperville area groups to host Oct. 3 rally for women's reproductive rights

On Sunday, Oct. 3, a rally will be held in support of the National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice at 2 p.m. at Naperville Riverwalk's Free Speech Pavilion.

Laura Welch, president of Illinois NOW, said, "Illinois is one of the remaining 'safe havens' for reproductive health care in the country due to decades of work by its members in coalition with other reproductive rights advocates and pro-choice legislators."

"The recent Texas abortion ban has mobilized millions of people across Illinois and the nation to defend the right to control our own bodies," said Mary Ann Curtis of Naperville Radical Women. "The rally is a wake-up call to stand up for this fundamental constitutional right."

The event will be held in memory of Rosie Jiménez who died of an unsafe abortion on Oct. 3, 1977 after the Hyde Amendment banned federal funds from covering the procedure. Rallying feminists and educators will talk about barriers that keep parents from deciding when or if to have children and how this impacts their lives and livelihoods. Speakers will address ways to build a unified movement to: protect and expand Roe v. Wade; safe, legal abortion on demand, without apology; repeal the Hyde Amendment; overturn state barriers to reproductive choices; stop forced sterilization; no to caged kids, forced assimilation, and child welfare abuses; end medical and environmental racism; support universal health care; defend queer and trans families; guarantee medically sound sex education and affordable child care; and uphold social progress with expanded voting rights and strong unions.

The Free Speech Pavilion is located on the corner of Webster Street and Jackson Avenue.

The rally is hosted by Naperville Radical Women, Illinois NOW and AAUW-Naperville Area. For information, go to ReproJusticeNow.org or email IllinoisRW@RadicalWomen.org.