Tuesday afternoon, advocates for women’s reproductive rights and hundreds of demonstrators rallied in the rain at the Wisconsin State Capitol in light of the upcoming Wisconsin State Supreme Court election.
The rally began at 2 p.m. with Wisconsin politicians and medical professionals speaking to the crowd about their support for abortion and warned them against candidate circuit court judge Brad Schimel.
Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OB-GYN and candidate for Congress, was the first to speak to the cheering crowd.
“Getting an abortion isn’t like getting an oil change, you don’t just go [to] Illinois and get your care and you’re fine,” Lyerly said. “It changes the trajectory of your life.”
Lyerly spoke about her experiences working with pregnant patients, emphasizing how the right to an abortion needs to be available for the health and safety of patients.
She introduced Sen. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, who discussed the upcoming Wisconsin State Supreme Court election.
“Four weeks from today is an extremely important election for the state of Wisconsin, because reproductive freedom is on the ballot,” Hesselbein said.
Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, and Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, joined Hesselbein in addressing the crowd about the importance of the upcoming election and called on the people to act.
“Keep making your voices heard right up until April 1 on election day, and keep making your voices heard after that vote … we will win this fight because it is a fight for our freedom,” Subeck said. “But we will not win it sitting on the sidelines.”
The executive director of the Women’s March, Rachel Carmona, spoke to the crowd to encourage them to vote for Judge Susan Crawford in the state Supreme Court election.
Several doctors and nurses spoke to the crowd in support of abortion rights from a medical perspective.
“I’ll say this again, every reason is a valid reason,” said a University of Wisconsin nurse.
Protestors proceeded into the Wisconsin State Capitol rotunda chanting various political sayings, like “we won’t go back.”
UW student and TikTok personality Killian Weston explained why he was attending the rally.
“I’m here to support my sister … to support the strong women in my life,” Weston said.
Two protesters, Carrie Desnoyers and Heidi Dondlinger, drove with another friend from Milwaukee to attend the protest.
Both emphasized the importance of abortion rights for future generations of women.
“I have a 15-year-old daughter, and would like her to have better rights than I did, not worse,” Dondlinger said when asked why she was at the protest.
Demonstrators chanting on the second floor of the Capitol drew workers like Colin Barushok out from their offices.
“This is the biggest protest I’ve seen in 10 years,” Barushok said.
Many demonstrators left sticky notes stating their reason for protesting and signs that they brought with them in front of the Supreme Court room on their way out.
