Tufts Medical Center walkout highlights support for abortion rights

An online flyer for the rally urged supporters to “come and make your voice heard on the conservative court’s plan to strip abortion rights.” The demonstration included speakers from the Tufts community, as well as a short march.

The Tufts pro-choice walkout is not the first Boston’s seen since the leak. Thousands turned out for demonstrations at the State House and Harvard yard in recent weeks. Students from at least two local schools also walked out of class on Friday in support of abortion rights, according to a Boston Globe report. 

Friday’s Tufts demonstration drew chants such as, “Not the church, not the state, women must decide their fate” and “When women’s/trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

A first-year Tufts medical student told the Globe she attended Friday’s rally to show her “utter anger and disbelief with this country.”

“This so deeply affects our care of everyone,” said student Emma Mitchell-Sparke. “I think it’s a vulnerable attack on reproductive choice and women’s rights, and it’s going to so negatively affect so many women, especially black women.”

Tufts Medical Center’s parent company told the Globe it stands “with our colleagues across the country who work daily to help individuals with reproductive decisions.”