Almost 50 islanders took part in a spirited protest at the four-way intersection in Vashon’s business district in the late afternoon of Friday, June 24, after it was announced that the U.S. Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision reached in 1973 that affirmed the privacy rights of individuals to be free from government control in their decisions regarding family planning.

Beginning at 5 p.m. and ending an hour later, the protest was witnessed by a stream of Vashon drivers passing by, many of whom honked their horns in solidarity with those gathered.

In an email sent in advance of the event, the local group, Indivisible Vashon, explained why it had called for the protest. “We’ve seen what happens when abortions are banned,” the email said. “Girls, women, non-binary and trans people with a uterus suffer in isolation or die in clandestine clinics. They’re jailed for having miscarriages or stillbirths.”

Another island group, Vashon-Maury Standing Up for Racial Justice, took part in the protest and in an email, invited others to do so, pointing out the disproportionate impact of the Court’s decision on low-income and people of color, who are statistically more likely, according to the CDC and other entities, to seek abortion services.

Vashon’s Backbone Campaign had a presence at the protest, with members unfurling a mesh banner that read in large, bright orange letters, “Abort the Court.” Other signs held aloft by the protesters reflected both defiance and sorrow.

“A very sad day,” said one sign, in white letters on black cardboard. “Women have just become second-class citizens in the United States,” said another.

Other signs proclaimed, “Bans off our body” and “Abortion is health care and health care is a right.” The age range of most protesters reflected the overall demographics of Vashon, but one of a few younger protesters, Max Rulff, age 16, took the microphone to address the crowd, to the cheers of the elders in attendance.

In a follow-up email to The Beachcomber, after the rally, Kevin Jones, a member of Indivisible Vashon, urged islanders to continue to make their voices heard on the issue in several ways. These included supporting progressive candidates to preserve and strengthen the Democratic majority in Congress as well as in governor’s races in vulnerable states, continuing to attend protests, and donating to funds that support legal defense, funding for abortion patients, and funding for clinics nationwide.

For more information on the group’s efforts, visit vashonindivisible.org.