Roe Rally Thanks Senator Salazar for Opposition to Alito
January 19, 2006 "FREEDOM, JUSTICE, ACCESS, ROE!"
ALITO NOMINATION AT CENTER OF HEALTHCARE ISSUEDESPITE THE SNOW, HUNDREDS RALLY AT CAPITOL ON WHAT MIGHT BE THE LAST ANNIVERSARY OF ROE V. WADE Denver, Colorado – While Colorado was hit with a fierce snow storm, the weather did not stop hundreds of people from gathering at the state capitol today in honor of the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The crowd, joined by legislators, religious leaders and women’s rights advocates, enthusiastically cheered the recent decision by US Senator Ken Salazar to oppose the nomination of Samuel Alito to the US Supreme Court. The crowd overflowed from the press room inside the capitol building out to the snow-covered steps as the rally started. The Reverend Dr. Ignacio Castuera, a Methodist Minister and the National Chaplain for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, reminded attendees that the fundamental right to privacy should always be protected by the Supreme Court. “This is about justice and equality for all people. As a person of faith, I, along with the majority of Americans, believe that the ability to control your body – your destiny – should not be controlled by the government,” stated the Reverend Dr. Ignacio Castuera. “This fundamental right to privacy must always be protected,” continued Reverend Dr. Ignacio Castuera. “That is why we applaud Senator Salazar for standing up for our civil rights and our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms by opposing Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court,” said Castuera. “I stand here today so that our daughters, our sisters, our friends will always have access to safe and affordable family planning health care,” added Juana Rosa Cavero of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR). "Today we are here to use our voices, which will not stay silent when the consequences will affect our health and our lives. We demand Justice, Access, Freedom and Roe," stated Cavero. Senate President Joan Fitz-Gerald and House Majority Leader Alice Madden also addressed the crowd, pledging to uphold reproductive rights in the state legislature, as the threat to Roe v. Wade grows in light of the possible confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito to the US Supreme Court. House Majority Leader Alice Madden spoke of the Bush Administration’s desire to increase governmental control over our personal and private decisions by saying, “You may have heard the saying, ‘Mi casa es su casa.’ President Bush has taken the liberty of twisting that into, ‘Su casa es mi casa.’ I have news for the president and his nominee: Mi casa es mi casa, unless you are invited in!” After the press conference and rally, the placards waved by the crowd reading, “FREEDOM, JUSTICE, ACCESS, ROE,” were delivered to Senator Salazar with personalized messages of thanks from his constituents. The event was sponsored with the member organizations of the Protect Families Protect Choice Coalition: ACLU of Colorado ▪ the Colorado AAUW ▪ Colorado League of Women Voters ▪ Colorado NOW ▪ Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR)▪ Colorado Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice ▪ Colorado Women’s Agenda ▪ Denver Women’s Commission ▪ NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado ▪ Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains ▪ Rocky Mountain Riveters ▪ White House Project ▪ Women’s Health (Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center) ▪ Women’s Lobby of Colorado
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