CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Islander Feminists hosted a march and rally for pro-abortion up Shoreline Drive on Thursday.
They welcomed the university community, as well as all of Corpus Christi.
It’s the first organized event in Corpus Christi since the Supreme Court’s draft opinion on Roe v. Wade was leaked.
“Everything feels very backwards right now and it’s very terrifying,” said Julia Nicholson, a sophomore at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
"My question is where does it end? What other rights are we going to lose?" Adair Apple asked, a Corpus Christi resident.
The Islander Feminists are a group at TAMU-CC that advocate for social justice, sexual health and any related issues.
They are open to everyone on campus. At 5 p.m. on Thursday, they gathered at Whataburger by the Bay to begin marching to the federal courthouse.
Nicholson was one of the organizers and said their message is clear.
“We want to communicate that abortion is not a dirty word," said Nicholson, co-president of Islander Feminists. "It’s not a bad thing. It’s just a medical procedure that a lot of people need. It’s nobody else’s business why they need it. And we want everybody to understand that you can still have access to abortions.”
Apple is a community member who shares the same thoughts.
Ironically enough, after hearing about the SCOTUS leak, she felt obligated to do something.
She headed out the door to let her voice be heard on Tuesday night. She ended up meeting people with the same passion, protesting outside the county courthouse and moved to the federal courthouse.
Wanting to do more, she learned about the Islander Feminists event.
“I just want us to all come together in community and realize that we’re not alone," Apple said. "And that a lot of us are very shocked and very upset about what’s going on to erode our civil rights.”
Both of their goals aim at educating others and putting pressure on elected officials.
Apple said they would continue to get out and speak up to keep their momentum going.
“I think it’s important to make people aware. I think everyone has busy lives (...) But we need people to realize this is a big deal,” Apple said.
“People that are on public health care, people that are in the military or on indigenous land or just are on medicaid and medicare, those people are going to face the butt of this decision,” Nicholson said.
Apple said a third person is planning another rally for the weekend.
For the latest local news updatesclick here, or download the Action 10 News App.
