The Chattanooga Health Advocacy Team is inviting the public to a vigil "for the protection of abortion rights" on Saturday.
The Chattanooga Health Advocacy Team was identified as Chattanooga’s only reproductive justice organization in the area, and are organizing this vigil in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood.
“We chose this holiday weekend to hold this vigil because, as some people are celebrating U.S. independence, we are mourning the loss of our bodily freedom,” said Shannon Hardaway, founding leader of CHAT, “Almost 50 years ago, Americans gained the right to abortion, and last week, we lost that right. We are mourning that loss.”
The event will be held from 7-10 p.m. at the intersection of Frazier Avenue and the Walnut Street Bridge.
“We are dedicated to fight for abortions rights,” said Ms. Hardaway. “In addition, we wanted to honor those that have fought for abortion rights in the past, those that have died from unsafe abortions, and the people who will continue to fight for safe, legal, and accessible abortion.”
This will be a silent vigil, and those planning to attend should be aware that many members are opting to tape their mouths shut in symbolic protest.
Officials said, "Signs are encouraged, but coat hanger imagery or handmaid’s tale costumes are discouraged."
The Chattanooga Health Advocacy Team said it also received community feedback about its rally on Friday that officials would like to address publicly. The rally was in response to the SCOTUS decision about Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center that overturned Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood.
“We have been planning for this day for months, but we were still in a state of shock,” said Ms. Hardaway. “We are elated that over 350 Chattanoogans attended our rally, but there were some mistakes made and we want to own up to that.”
The event was held from 6-9 p.m. Chattanooga Health Advocacy Team had a rally at Coolidge Park, although they had originally intended the rally to be at Miller Park.
“We were not prepared for a decision on a Friday,” said Ms. Hardaway, who was unable to attend, being out of town for family matters, “It is very unusual for the Supreme Court to announce a decision on a Friday, and so we had to regroup and change the venue.” However, some groups posted the original plan to social media, including Planned Parenthood. “This was a confusing error, but I think everyone found their way to Coolidge Park that night.
"The choice of venue created a cry for a march across Walnut Street Bridge, something that Chattanooga Health Advocacy Team discouraged multiple times. We are saddened that there were people who felt unsafe because of police presence on and around the bridge, despite our warnings to the crowd not to march across the bridge.
"We were also given feedback that many of the speakers did not include trans and non-binary inclusive language in their speeches. We at Chattanooga Health Advocacy Team are inclusive to all humans, no matter, race, gender, sexuality or ability. We will strive to better oversee our speakers’ messages in the future, to be better at fulfilling our mission statement: Chattanooga Health Advocacy Team is a grassroots organization dedicated to creating safe and healthy communities through increased access to reproductive healthcare and rights, including pro-choice healthcare, and inclusive sexual education for all.
"Finally, Chattanooga Health Advocacy Team is Chattanooga’s only reproductive healthcare justice organization, and there are no other organizations that speak for us. We encourage anyone wanting to get involved to follow our social media presence. Any messages that are not from Chattanooga Health Advocacy Team should be referred to us for further clarification."