Clevelanders say: ‘Post Roe? Hell no!’

May 6-8 was a weekend of demonstrations for reproductive justice in Cleveland. Women’s March Cleveland held a march and rally May 6 outside the site of the now-razed “house of horrors” — where three young women were held captive for years by a sexual predator. May 6 marked the anniversary of their escape. The leaked Supreme Court opinion would allow anti-abortion state laws to force someone in a similar situation to carry their abuser’s child to term.

The next day hundreds of young women, gender-oppressed people and allies marched through downtown Cleveland, chanting “Post Roe? Hell no!” Party of Socialism and Liberation called this demonstration; the news of it spread quickly on social media. More came out May 8 for a third action on Mother’s Day, sponsored by Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights.

This is a life-and-death issue in Ohio. The current federal court-ordered stay on a “heartbeat bill” passed in 2020 — criminalizing abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy — would be lifted if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Governor Mike DeWine has said he would go even further and sign a bill banning abortions altogether.

Credit: WWPHOTO: Susan Schnur

Credit: WWPHOTO: Martha Grevatt