The Rural We: Debbie Frank
The part-time Lakeville resident is one of the organizers of a women's march for reproductive rights on Oct. 2.
As the saying goes, if you want to get something done, sometimes you just have to do it yourself. That’s what Debbie Frank realized when she couldn’t find any towns near her planning an associated rally for the Women’s March on October 2 to defend women’s reproductive rights. Along with a group of women from the northwest Connecticut area, she put the Salisbury Women’s March Rally on the march map. The rally will be held at 2 p.m. on The Green in front of the White Hart Inn.
I am from Miami, and have had a house in Lakeville for the last 20 years. My husband and I spend from May to October in this beautiful spot. I am an attorney who practiced for 10 years and then taught at the University of Miami. Currently I am in my third career as a private art consultant. Over the last 30 years I have been active in the nonprofit world – particularly with Planned Parenthood where I have been in leadership, fundraising and governance on the state and national level.
We are having this rally to protest the awful SB8 Texas law which abrogates the right to an abortion in Texas. A six-week cutoff is almost impossible to comply with. Most women don’t even know that they are pregnant at six weeks. To complicate things, in Texas, if you’re a young woman without parental consent for an abortion, you need to follow a judicial bypass procedure. Again, this poses an insurmountable barrier to access for the most needy.
SB8 is a mean-spirited law, particularly in the component for vigilante enforcement. It was a clever legal maneuver to avoid state involvement in an effort to bypass one’s constitutional rights. I think the law is on its face unconstitutional and I was shocked when the Supreme Court did not grant a temporary injunction to prevent its enforcement. Now other states with right-wing legislatures are trying to adopt new laws modeled on SB8. This is a dangerous trend that may result in denying access to safe and legal abortions in most states in America.
From Planned Parenthood I heard about the Women's March movement for October 2. There will be events in all 50 states that day. I kept checking the Women’s March map and when I couldn’t find an event nearby I signed up to organize the event in Salisbury along with a group of friends. Fortunately we have an excellent organizing committee and women around here know how to get things done. We will have speakers at our event to discuss various aspects of reproductive rights.
It has been a great joint effort; our community has rallied to this cause. We are hoping for good weather. Wear pink, make signs and stand up for reproductive rights and reproductive justice in America.
