Jun. 24—GRAND FORKS — Two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, ending the constitutional right to abortion access, dozens gathered near the DeMers Avenue overpass in Grand Forks. They held signs with abortion rights messages for passing motorists, encouraging them to “Honk 4 abortion rights” and “Use your vote.”

“(It’s been) two years since the Supreme Court did what many of us knew intellectually they might do — but in our guts, in our hearts, in our souls never thought they would do — and that’s roll back rights,” District 43 state Rep. Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, said during his rally speech. “They took away fundamental rights that had been enshrined in our constitution for generations, and now here we are, two years later, fighting to get those rights back.”

North Dakota is one of 21 states that implemented a near or total abortion ban following the Supreme Court decision, Ista said. These bans have affected 27 million, or one in three, women of reproductive age in the U.S., he said.

“Here in North Dakota, we had a chance to do something about it,” Ista said. “We’ve had a legislative session since then. We could’ve responded to it. We could’ve fixed it.”

Instead, he said, the state doubled down, signing off on what he believes is one of the most extreme, restrictive abortion bans in the country.

“What are we going to do about it now?” Ista asked.

ERA NOW, a local nonprofit, sponsored the Women Strike Back Rally, held Monday afternoon, June 24, in Independence Park. ERA stands for Equal Rights Amendment, an amendment that would prohibit discrimination based on a person’s biological sex.

Though Congress passed the ERA more than 50 years ago, it’s not in the U.S. Constitution.

“The focus of (ERA NOW) has been equal rights for women,” said Thomasine Heitkamp, co-founder of the nonprofit, during a rally speech. “To see all of you holding a sign that supports equal rights for women is absolutely heartening.”

Heitkamp said that, as someone who’s been advocating for women’s rights for 50 years, the landscape for women’s rights, in many ways, is worse than it’s ever been in her lifetime.

Though there have been positive strides, other issues persist, she told the Herald.

“I’m going to talk about my mom, Doreen LaVonne Berg Heitkamp, who was a feminist,” Heitkamp said in her speech. “She talked about birth control. She had seven children in nine years because she didn’t have access to birth control. She wanted something different for her daughters. She wanted equal pay for her daughters.”

Decades later, Heitkamp said, only 18% of the population identifies as a feminist.

“I stand on her shoulders — and all of you stand on someone’s shoulders — as you engage in activism and support for women’s rights,” Heitkamp said. “I’m challenging us all today to say we’re feminists.”

Showing up, wearing red in solidarity to the National Women’s Strike and carrying signs to spread the pro-choice message is a great first step, but it’s important to keep the momentum going, Ista said.

“We have to show up every chance we get to make our voices heard, in public settings but also in that private setting of the ballot box,” Ista said.

He spoke about the recent primary election,

which in Grand Forks County drew less than 15% of potential voters.

“You might not think reproductive rights are on the ballot in the June primary election, but that can’t be further from the truth,” Ista said. “Who decides which fictitious videos get shown in school to try to indoctrinate children about abortion rights? That’s a school board decision. Those elections are in June.”

City councils and county commissions play a role too, Ista said, because he believes they’re injecting themselves into these issues as well. As for the other races, the primary election is a chance to decide which candidates move forward to the general election.

“We can’t have 85% of our community sitting out the election every time; it is too important for that,” he said. “So I hope you will channel the anger you feel on this anniversary every year into productive, useful outlets.”

Voting, supporting candidates with similar values, supporting their campaigns if possible, showing up to events, writing letters to the editor and making social media posts are some of the actions Ista encouraged rally attendees to take.

“We’re going to stand with you in that fight as best we can in Bismarck — those precious few of us who are there to support women’s rights, support reproductive health care — but we need reinforcements,” Ista said. “I hope you’ll join me in supporting candidates like that.”