Chants of “We are not going back” resounded in South Park during a rally Saturday morning.
Despite the rain, hundreds of people participated in the Lawrence rally for women’s rights, organized by a group of local women. Several speakers discussed reproductive freedom and access to health care, issues vital to this year’s presidential election.
Organizers and speakers said they support electing Vice President Kamala Harris to office.
Brooklynne Mosley, presumed representative-elect for Kansas House District 46, told a story about generations of women.
She said her great-grandmother was born in 1905, her grandmother was born in 1926, her mother was born in 1959 and she herself was born in 1984. Each experienced more freedoms than their predecessor.
“I came into a world where women were able to own homes, have bank accounts, sign leases, and now have the right to choose when and how they wanted to start a family,” Mosley said. “And now I am sitting here as an aunt to two nieces who were born in 2023 and one was born two months ago, in 2024, and I’m worried, are they going to live in a world where they have less rights than I have?”
Amii Castle, attorney and University of Kansas professor, spoke about Project 2025. She said the conservative framework is directly aligned with former president Donald Trump and his vision for America.
Since the Supreme Court, including justices appointed by Trump, decided to overturn Roe v. Wade, many individual states have barred access to abortion care. Project 2025 would do worse, Castle said, including a potential ban on in vitro fertilization (IVF).
“These abortion bans, these Trump abortion bans, have few exceptions,” she said. “Some have no exceptions for rape or incest, and we’re hearing these horror stories emerging of the consequences of this Trump abortion ban. Women being denied health care because doctors are afraid they’ll go to jail if they treat a pregnant woman. Women are dying as they are waiting to receive health care.”
Similar rallies to the one in Lawrence were happening in Washington, D.C. and in states across the country Saturday.
Sen. Marci Francisco, running for reelection in Senate District 2, which represents most of Lawrence, said it’s time to make a woman president.
“Voters will be putting either a convicted felon or a woman in the Oval Office for the first time,” Francisco said. “Let’s change that narrative that your vote for president in Kansas doesn’t count.”
Rep. Barbara Ballard, running unopposed for her House seat, reminded folks of the August 2022 Kansas Vote No campaign. Kansans pulled together to defeat an amendment on the ballot that would have opened the door to a statewide abortion ban. She said Kansas set an example. Now women are again showing up at the polls, she said.
“August the Second will always be in my memory,” Ballard said. “Now I’m gonna tell you what that did. That said to the rest of the states, ‘If Kansas can do it, we can do it.’”
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Mosley said after the results, there will be more work to do.
“The destination is not just our freedom,” Mosley said. “The destination is not just our comfort. The destination is for us to make sure that we are building a world where no matter where you’re from, that you have the ability to have access to the education that you deserve, have access to the health care that you deserve, have access just to breathe and to live and to watch your children flourish and not have fear of them being shot down in classrooms.”
Early voting will be available from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, Nov. 4 at the county elections office, 711 W. 23rd St., Suite 1 in Lawrence. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Learn more about how to cast your ballot in Douglas County in this article. See more election coverage at the links below.
Note: This post has been corrected from a previous version.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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