STORY & PHOTOS BY DEVIN FLORES
The Harris/Walz campaign’s “Fighting for Reproductive Freedoms” bus, which is currently performing a cross-country tour, made a stop in at the Pueblo Union Depot on October 7, 2024, to campaign for Democratic candidates in local, state, and federal elections. The event drew a significant crowd of both Pro-Choice supporters and Pro-Life protesters, but, while some heated words were exchanged, the event remained peaceful.
The “Reproductive Freedoms Bus Tour” is part of a larger initiative from the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz campaign, focusing on the ongoing debate regarding abortion access. Attending this stop were several local and state representatives, including Pueblo County Commissioner Daneya Esgar, State Representatives Tisha Mauro and Stephanie Vigil, and State Senator Nick Hinrichsen.
As many of the politicians present at the stop reminded the assembled crowd, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022 access to abortion is no longer federally protected. As a result, 13 states have enacted total abortion bans, and 28 more have enacted restrictions based on gestational duration. While Colorado is not one of these states, and in fact has an abortion access law on the books, the matter is far from settled in the minds of most Coloradans.
This year Amendment 79, which would make abortion access a constitutional right in the state, will appear on the ballot for Colorado voters. With this important ballot measure upcoming, the abortion discussion has once again gained prominence in local Pueblo County politics. The city council appears to be considering reviving a failed ordinance which would restrict the operations of abortion clinics within city limits. This is being championed by City Councilmember Regina Maestri (District 1) who also organized the protest outside of the Pueblo Union Depot during the Reproductive Freedoms bus event.
The pro-life crowd outside the Depot was large and vocal. Many of them held signs decrying abortion as “murder” and encouraging passersby to “Pray to End Abortion.” They also called for a closure of the single clinic in Pueblo which provides abortions, and chanted slogans such as “Baby’s Lives Matter” and “No Right to Kill.”
Councilmember Maestri, who was also in attendance, though she was unavailable for comment as she left early to attend Monday’s regular city council meeting.
The protestors could also be overheard decrying abortion as an infringement upon the rights of men, with one protestor loudly proclaiming both “Women can’t reproduce on their own” and “They don’t get the man to consent when they kill the baby.”
When approached for a comment, one protestor said: “We’re just here to support life. God is the only one who has the right to give life and take life. [Babies] are the most innocent of our human beings on earth. Everybody wants social justice, but they aren’t going to have anybody to have social justice for because they’re killing our children.”
During the campaign event, which was hosted behind the Union Depot building away from the main thoroughfare, a number of protesters assembled on the Union Avenue Viaduct, from which they had a vantage point to watch the event. These protesters also held signs decrying abortion and stating that “Pueblo Doesn’t Want Harris.” These protestors chanted for a while before the event began, but quieted and then dispersed once the speakers emerged.
The speakers all spoke on the importance of voter turnout, not just for federal elections but also for state and local positions. Senator Hinrichson and Representative Vigil both spoke on this issue, and spoke against the Trump/Vance campaign.
“We have less than a month to go,” said Representative Vigil, adding, “There’s a lot on the ballot this year.”
Representative Vigil also spoke out strongly against the Trump/Vance campaign and President Trump’s history on reproductive rights, saying: “[Trump] is not looking out for you. He is awfully proud of what he’s done, which is stacking the supreme court and overturning Roe v. Wade. He calls it a beautiful thing, which is not what I would call it.”
I am very elated to read your coverage of city council meeting in Pueblo. I am however saddened by the performance of the Democratic Party and their lack of leadership and vision. It’s clear
to me that a Chicano/ Latino leader must emerge from the docile attitude of the Chicano/ Latino population.