May 27, 2022 For Immediate Release
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On Thursday, actor Mark Ruffalo joined his daughters in the New York City student walkout for abortion rights. This was the fourth consecutive week of youth walkouts called for by RiseUp4AbortionRights.org and yesterday they took place in over 20 cities across the country.

Ruffalo spoke at the closing rally, after marching with his daughters from Union Square across the Brooklyn Bridge, which the protesters had shut down.

Ruffalo talked of his own mother being forced to have an illegal abortion. "She had to travel over state lines. This is a whole generation of women that were forced to have children, and their whole lives were based on that non-choice."

"That’s not the world we want to be living in," he said, "and it’s NOT OVER yet. We’re here today as Roe v. Wade still stands. . .We cannot succumb to the despair that says the other side is going to win this. They haven’t won yet. We came out today, and it’s meaningful. . . You guys, you’re beautiful. You young people, I’m just blown away. (CHEERS). Beautiful. You guys are doing beautiful things. The fact that you showed up like this is beautiful. So keep going, keep fighting. The more we mobilize, the closer we are to seeing the future that we want and YOU deserve." (Full speech).

Other celebrities took part in or supported the #RiseUp4AbortionRights walkouts. Actor Kayli Carter from Mrs. America spoke at Union Square. Kerry Washington posted a picture of herself in all green, the color of abortion rights popularized in Latin America and Mexico, and tagged @RiseUp4AbortionRights. Milla Jovovich also posted a message of solidarity with the student walkouts. (See below)

"We must stop the Supreme Court from overturning Roe v. Wade—and we CAN! said Sunsara Taylor, a co-initiator of RiseUp4AbortionRights.org. "We can if we make clear, through our mass nonviolent and relentless resistance, that we will bring the gears of society to a grinding halt before we accept the ending of abortion rights. Everyone has a role to play and we must act together now!"

INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE:

Sunsara Taylor, co-host of The RNL— Revolution Nothing Less!—Show, host/producer of We Only Want the World (WBAI & WPFW), co-initiator of RefuseFascism.org, leader of the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride.