Abortion rights protesters rally in Redding

More than 100 people gathered outside Redding City Hall on Friday evening to protest the Supreme Court's decision to overturn abortion rights.

The peaceful demonstrators, which included both men and women, waved signs at the intersection of Cypress Avenue and Civic Center Drive. A steady stream of drivers waved in support and blared their horns to the crowd's cheers.

Redding attorney Lisa Jensen organized the abortion rights rally on Facebook. She said the court's decision was outrageous and was proud of the demonstrators who turned out.

"I got the idea to go ahead and start a Facebook event and it basically just caught on. A lot of people have shown up. It got shared a bunch of times so that was really cool," she said.

Jensen said she wanted the group to come together so their voices could be heard.

"This is an example of the government taking away what I believe is a constitutional fundamental right and now we need to fight for that," she said.

Jensen said she grew up with a single mom who's a lawyer and that she went to law school with her.

"I learned early on about the rights that we have and the things that we cannot take for granted," Jensen said.

Laurie O'Connell, spokesperson for the Shasta Abortion Coalition and a North State Women’s Health Network board member, was among the protesters who spoke to the crowd.

She gave a shout-out to the Women's Health Specialists clinic on Victor Avenue in Redding.

O'Connell called it "our historic, independent women's clinic that's being going for 40 years under all sorts of trials and tribulations."

She said the clinic has been firebombed four times and acid attacked multiple times.

"Death threats are just commonplace but they keep going. Those women are the true heroes of abortion in Shasta County and beyond," she said.

Katrina Cantrell, executive director of Women's Health Specialists, said in a statement Friday that the Supreme Court's decision will affect young people's lives for years to come.

"This is not the end of the battle to overturn half a century of legal precedent and strip individuals of their dignity — it’s just the beginning. .. and after half a century of freedom, we're determined to fight to restore reproductive justice throughout our country," she said.

Another demonstration, called the "Take Back Abortion Rights Rally," is planned at 10 a.m. Sunday outside Redding City Hall. Protesters were encouraged to wear green, which organizers said is the symbol for reproductive rights.

Mike Chapman is an award-winning reporter and photographer for the Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif. His newspaper career spans Yreka and Eureka in Northern California and Bellingham, Wash. Support local journalism by subscribing today.