It is a cold and cloudy afternoon on Friday, Sept. 23, and dozens of concerned students and community members gather in the Science Laboratory Center (SLC) atrium on Winona State University’s campus. They clutch handmade signs with slogans of reproductive justice. They are here to “rally for Roevember.”

With the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, and subsequent abortion bans and restrictions in several states, many Americans are outraged. As the upcoming elections for the house and senate could decide if more states choose to outlaw abortion, many pro-choice activists have dubbed November, “Roevember” in the fight to preserve reproductive freedom.

Students and community members showed up at the Roevember Rally to speak up for reproductive justice and show their support for Senate candidate Dan Wilson who is currently running against Republican Jeremy Miller for the District 26 seat in the Minnesota Senate.

Wilson is running under the Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor Party and one of his platform policies is to protect abortion laws already in place by the Minnesota legislature.

If elected to the Minnesota Senate, Wilson said he would protect abortion laws in the state by, “working with other senators to codify the laws we already have.”

Furthermore, Wilson said that reproductive rights should be thought of as a family value as it is a “person’s choice to decide when they want to start a family.”

When speaking to the assembled body of the rally, Wilson claimed that his opponent, Senator Miller, would plan to ban abortion in Minnesota in a “slow and incremental” way.

Wilson also said that Miller was “too extreme” for Minnesota.

Senate Minority Leader Melisa Lopez Franzen for District 49 attended the event to show her support for Wilson. In her speech to those present, Franzen gave some explanation on the legal background of the Roe v. Wade decision.

Part of the decision, Franzen said, was in part because the Constitution does not give any specific mention about abortion.

“Women’s right to bodily autonomy has been un-constitutionalized,” Franzen said.

With the state’s laws for protecting abortion, Franzen calls Minnesota a “haven for healthcare.”

Also, in attendance to support Wilson was Senator Mary Kunesh of District 41. As both a mother and grandmother, Sen. Kunesh expressed her concern about the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“I don’t want my daughters to wake up one day and realize their brother has more rights than they do,” Kunesh said.

By working together to protect abortion in the state, Senator Kunesh told students and community members they could make the state “the kind of Minnesota that everyone will want to live in.”

As part of the rally, attendees marched to the polls to cast their votes for Senate Candidate Dan Wilson

Sept. 23 marked the first day of early voting in Minnesota. For students who wish to vote, polling places can be found on campus. The actual election day will be on Nov. 8, 2022.