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Denver SDS fights for Roe, marches to senator’s office

By Keegan Estrella

SDS protest against attacks on women and reproductive rights.

Denver, CO – On May 5, Students for a Democratic Society led a march of several dozen students and community members from Auraria Campus to the office of U.S. Senator Michael Bennet to deliver a list of demands to encode legal access to safe abortions for all.

Denver SDS was joined by The Brazen Project and the local chapter of Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

In response to a draft opinion written by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito released to Politico on May 2 that points to the dissolution of the federally protected right to abortion in the United States, Denver SDS led a march on the tri-institutional Auraria Campus. The march began outside Tivoli Commons on campus. Chants like “Abortion is healthcare!” “Bans off our bodies!” and “Ho ho! Hey hey! Abortion rights are here to stay!” boomed from the crowd as they marched towards the senator’s office.

Students marched to Senator Bennet’s office to demand that the Democrat do everything within his power to codify Roe v. Wade into law. Students then delivered an official statement with demands including the codification and expansion of the right to safe, legal and accessible abortion. This includes voting for H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act of 2021; free contraception and abortion pills; eliminating any mandatory waiting periods or counseling before seeking abortive medicine, and protecting the right to seek an abortion across state lines without threat of criminal charges.

Katherine Draken, a rank-and-file UPS Teamster and member of FRSO, remarked in her address to the crowd, “Capitalism hurts working women and trans people in insidious ways. The worst thing capitalism does to promote gender oppression is the separation of oppressed peoples and keeping them from understanding the thing that draws them together in solidarity is that they are all working people who are exploited.”

Students for a Democratic Society plans on continuing to pressure Democrat politicians in Colorado as the fate of Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance.

#DenverCO #LGBTQ #RoeVWade #reproductiveRights