From Generation Ratify, “a movement of over 11,000 young people organizing for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.” According to this group:
“Our fight is particularly pertinent in the wake of attacks on our reproductive freedoms. The need for the Constitution to prohibit sex-based discrimination is more important now than ever.
Generation Ratify is organizing a nationwide school walkout, modeled after our organizers in Virginia. This walkout is taking place next Wednesday, May 18th. The press release can be accessed HERE. It is hard to predict numbers now, but we will keep you updated. In Virginia, 48 schools held walkouts with more than 5,000 student participants.
Young people must be centered in conversations about our bodies, lives, and futures. We will not be the post-Roe generation. That is why young people are making our voices heard to demand federal and state protections for abortion, including the publication of the Equal Rights Amendment.”
See their press release, below. Also, see here for photos and video from Monday’s “Statewide Student Day of Action for Abortion Access” here in Virginia, which saw more than 5,000 students participate in walkouts “to demand action on their reproductive rights.” Impressive!
5,000+ VA STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN WALKOUTS IN SUPPORT OF ABORTION ACCESS, THOUSANDS TO FOLLOW NEXT WEDNESDAY
On Monday, May 9th, 47 high schools, and James Madison University participated in Generation Ratify Virginia’s Statewide Student Day of Action for Abortion Access. Over 5,000 students walked out to demand action on their reproductive rights. These walkouts have inspired young people across the country to organize similar demonstrations in their communities to advocate for their freedoms and their futures. Under the guidance and inspiration of Generation Ratify Virginia, thousands more young people will walk out of school next Wednesday, May 18th. Generation Ratify Virginia and the national Generation Ratify organization released the following statement:
“We are in a time of unprecedented attacks on our reproductive rights. In 2022 alone, there have been more than 500 anti-abortion restrictions introduced across 41 state legislatures. According to the leaked draft majority opinion by Justice Alito in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, it is clear the Supreme Court will not protect young people’s reproductive freedoms. With unconstitutional, anti-abortion legislation sweeping state legislatures and a Supreme Court that refuses to uphold the Constitution, young people are being stripped of their right to healthcare and bodily autonomy. We need a mass youth mobilization to defend and expand our access to abortion.”
“Young people call on our elected officials to codify Roe v. Wade on both the state and federal level, including to advance the Equal Rights Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment that will prohibit sex-based discrimination. The ERA will provide a strong legal defense against attacks on our abortion access. We call on President Biden and the National Archivist to publish the ERA. We also urge the Senate to remove the arbitrary deadline on the ratification of the amendment by passing SJ Res 1. Women and queer people need the permanent protection only a constitutional amendment can provide.”
“We must center youth voices in conversations about abortion access, but it can be hard to get young people out to protests. That is why Generation Ratify Virginia brought protests to the young people. We brought it straight to their schools. With youth-led walkouts, we galvanized 5,000 of our peers to join us. We garnered the attention of multiple Virginia leaders. Attorney General Miyares publicly called our protests “disruptive.” He said we didn’t have the “right.” We want to make it clear that 1) forced pregnancy is pretty damn disruptive to students, too, and 2) the Constitution grants us the right to privacy AND the right to free speech. This is our future at stake. These are our freedoms at stake.”
“Young people are fired up. It is our bodies, our futures, and our lives at stake. That’s why we are walking out of school next Wednesday, May 18th. We won’t go back.”
###
Generation Ratify Virginia and Generation Ratify, the youth-led movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and advance gender equality.
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
