‘It’s about surviving the next 4 years’: LGBTQ+ and repro rights advocates share why the stakes are so high at Raleigh rally

‘Being at the center of debate about your worth and rights is exhausting.’

“If I hadn’t had an abortion during my college years, I might not have become a nurse. I wouldn’t have the two sons I cherish dearly. A single choice can change the entire trajectory of your life.”

That was the message from Michele Moore, a nurse and health care advocate, who shared her personal story during Rainbow Repro Advocacy Day, a first-of-its-kind event held in Raleigh. 

Moore, who had an abortion 39 years ago, said she fears for young people today who no longer have the same access due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

“It’s devastating for me to know that any young person who needs an abortion under the exact same circumstances where I needed one must now flee the state to seek that same treatment,” she said. “That’s why I’m here today. Our elected officials must step up and do everything in their power to protect our fundamental freedoms, to protect our right to decide what is best for us.”

Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022, North Carolina Republican lawmakers have enacted a abortion ban, reducing the period to get an abortion from 20 weeks to 12. The law also requires a 72-hour waiting period and in-person counseling, creating additional hurdles for those seeking care. For many, these restrictions mean traveling out of state for services that were once accessible in North Carolina.

READ MORE: People are leaving states with abortion bans, according to study

Along with Moore, other reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ activists gathered at the North Carolina General Assembly for Rainbow Repro Advocacy Day, a joint effort by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, Equality NC, and other partner organizations to discuss the intersection of LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive justice, and demand the passage of policies that protect reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights.

“This day is about making sure our voices are heard,” said Virginia Pittman, the Western North Carolina Community Organizer for Planned Parenthood Votes South Atlantic. “We are here to push back against attacks on our bodily autonomy and fight for policies that affirm our existence.”

Throughout the day, attendees met with lawmakers to advocate and seek sponsorship for bills such as Senate Bill 482 (House Bill 503), the “Don’t Tread on Me Act,” and a bundle of other bills recently proposed. Bills including SB 413, SB 383, SB 467, SB 463 and SB 483, that focus on expanding health care access, protecting abortion rights, and combating anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

Sponsored by Democratic Senators Sydney Batch (D-17 Wake), Michael Garrett (D-27 Guilford), Woodson Bradley (D-42 Mecklenburg), and more, the Don’t Tread on Me Act aims to protect individual freedoms by restricting government interference in personal privacy, medical decisions, education, and employment. It prohibits warrantless surveillance, ideological discrimination in public services, and government restrictions on reproductive health care.

Eliazar Posada-Orozco, executive director of Equality NC and Carrboro town councilmember, said this is a bill he and other advocates are hoping will be seen as “middle ground.”

“It doesn’t reach everything we want, but it does bring in some protections,” Posada-Orozco said. “It does codify some things into law, specifically around women’s rights and representation and inequality, but we recognize that that doesn’t go far enough. We know that working with our legislatures, we’re hopeful that we might get some bipartisan support… Right now it’s about surviving the next four years. It’s about keeping the status quo so our community does not lose any more protections and rights as we move forward.”

Passed recently for its first reading, the bill also protects fact-based education without political influence and upholds parental authority in child-rearing decisions. The bill currently sits in committee.

For R, a participant at the event and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, these issues are why she came out. She and her wife have been married for 10 years and have lived in three conservative states, all of which had marriage amendments restricting LGBTQ+ rights.

“Being at the center of debate about your worth and your rights, it’s distracting, it’s damaging, and it’s draining, and I’m really hopeful that my community and the next generation don’t have to continue going through this,” said R. “And so we’re here today to ask for support, to push progress, privacy, and freedom for that entire community.”

Speakers, including representatives from Equality NC, ACLU NC, Pro-Choice NC, and the Human Rights Campaign, rallied outside the legislature to stress the intersection of reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ justice, and emphasize the need for continued activism leading up to the next election cycle.

Rhys Chambers, senior regional organizing lead at the Human Rights Campaign, said despite what many may think, “North Carolina is queer.”

“It is progressive, [an] absolutely wonderful state, and we are not the minority here,” they said.

Chambers said even with conservative lawmakers’ attempts to roll back rights, most North Carolinians support policies that protect reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights.

RELATED: RFK Jr. could restrict NC women’s access to abortion and miscarriage care

“What we want is safety for our kids so that way we don’t have to worry about their schools getting shot, instead of passing bills that allow it for even more people to have unfettered access to firearms,” they said. “We want to be able to have kids where their parents who care for them, who want to make sure that they’re going to get the health care that they deserve, have access to it, instead of taking away kids rights and their parents rights under this guise of parental control and parental freedom. If you’re not going to give all parents the same rights, then don’t pretend that you’re trying to make sure that parents have a say.”

Moore, who shared her story earlier in the day, said she never regretted her abortion because she knew then it was the right decision for her—but under the state’s current laws, she wouldn’t have had the same choice.

“I would be faced with the daunting prospect of having to travel out of state for abortion,” she said. “This is a reality for so many pregnant people, because bans have eliminated all, or some of the access to abortion in 21 states. Reproductive freedom is essential for us to truly take control of our lives. It grants us the bodily autonomy we fundamentally deserve.”

READ MORE: Gov. Josh Stein signs executive order aimed at protecting reproductive freedoms