Students walk out in protest of potential Roe v. Wade overturn

Kimaya Mundhe and Sarah Wilson|May 25, 2022

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Kat Swift

Max Shawhan, ‘23 attends the walkout on May 17 to protest for abortion rights. While speaking out, Shawhan holds a sign stating, “Abortion is a human right,”

In protest of The Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion, indicating the potential overturn of Roe v. Wade, WHHS students of all ages, gender identities, races and backgrounds walked out of their fourth bell classes. This is what those who spoke up have to say. 

“The overturning of the Roe v Wade bill is going to impact so many people that are out of sight, out of mind to these lawmakers. Trans women are getting left out of the discussions that are harming us as people; we need to start including everybody in these conversations, not just the majority,” SENIOR Arlo Grimaldi said. (Hajra Munir)
“There are some extremely young people here who may not know how this will affect them or affect their community… and I think it’s important for everyone to be educated to make the decision and ultimately have [their own] choice,” Alexa Kendall, ‘23, said. (Hajra Munir)
“I have always been a strong advocate for women’s rights in America… and when the Roe v Wade draft was leaked, I was outraged because a right that we’ve had the ability to exercise for almost half a century now is trying to be taken away by men who are uneducated and are religiously biased,” Jada Scott, ‘23, said. (Hajra Munir)

“Student walkouts have really changed things… [but] it can’t just be Walnut. It has to be more schools doing walkouts if walkouts are really going to do anything,” Erica Curtis, ‘24, said. (Hajra Munir)
“I think [walkouts] show the resilience, the intelligence and the overall awareness and advocacy of young children and I think that’s very important. That… kids can come out and support and talk on an ideology that they believe in so strongly. And sometimes adults don’t even have that kind of bravery,” SENIOR Yazmeen Thomas said. (Kat Swift)

Student holds sign stating, “My Body, My Choice,” in protest of the potential Roe v. Wade overturn. (Hajra Munir)
“This is a human right to be able to express your opinion like this, and I think it’s a good opportunity to hear other people’s voices and talk about [this issue] as a community,” Maya Sampath, ‘25, said. (Kat Swift)
“We need to take care of the kids that are here now and make sure that they have families to go to as opposed to trying to… bring all these kids into the world,” Brianna Vaughn, ‘24, said. (Dominic Hamon)
“I think that the most important thing for me is that this choice can’t be judged. It can’t be made for somebody. It’s hard. And it’s messy, and it’s dangerous and things happen that are outside of people’s control. Whether it’s a pregnancy you want or not. Whether it was a situation where you decided to have sex or you didn’t. There’s no possible way to know the context of someone’s entire life…so nobody can control or possibly try to understand another person’s entire life story that comes into play when you’re getting pregnant. Because it’s a creation of life, but it’s also an addition to an old life that already existed. And so there are all these factors that just can’t be accounted for no matter what you say your belief system is,” SENIOR Tierney Shafer said. (Hajra Munir)