APPLETON (NBC 26) — Downtown Appleton was relatively quiet Friday night, especially around Houdini Plaza. But when the clock hit 5:45, people came out in droves.
All of them from different organizations, like Planned Parenthood, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the ACLU, protested in favor of pro-choice.
Protests like these come after the Supreme Court of the United States made the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. There were lots of thoughts and emotions.
"People are irritated. People are mad that their rights have been taken away," Kristin Alfheim said. She's the Fox Valley Senate District 19 candidate. "A lot of us didn't think we'd get to this point, and now here we are, we're coming off of our couches to say, we’re done."
Everyone united under one common ground, honking, cheering and chanting for change.
"You're not going to ban abortion, you're going to ban safe abortions and women are going to die," Emmery Paulus said, a protester from Menasha. "We have fought for so long to be equal, and I don't want to be told that we're second class citizens, and that we can't make up our own minds and make decisions for ourselves."
Sophia Wemzel from United Action Oshkosh spoke at the event and noted there is power in numbers and power for the people.
"We all need to remember that this is our city, these are our street," Wemzel said. "One of my favorite chants that we do is 'Whose streets, Our streets,' because it's a reminder that the power is in us."
It's a reminder that, as one sign said, we're stronger together.
"I don't care where you're from, men and women, Republican, Democrat, common sense has to start winning," Alfheim said.
