Women pump iron in San Francisco to steel for abortion-access struggle

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — On Saturday, girls at a San Francisco health club used their muscle to point out power for girls in states which have restricted entry to abortion.

Danielle Repetti, the proprietor of the female-focused health studio Iron & Mettle in San Francisco, hosted a bench press competitors that served as a fundraiser for the Ladies’s Reproductive Rights Help Undertaking, a non-profit group that helps girls entry protected and authorized abortion providers.

“Our health club is a strength-training studio made for girls. We assist girls. We consider they’re robust and resilient. Abortion is well being care. It’s, particularly, girls’s well being care. I simply could not consider a greater trigger to assist on this second,” she mentioned. “With Roe v. Wade, it simply felt like we needed to do one thing.”

The extra weight a participant lifted, the extra money was donated.

“If someone benched 100 kilos for his or her highest rep, then that individual plus all of their sponsors would donate $100 every,” Repetti mentioned. “It was {dollars} for kilos.”

In complete, the ladies bench-pressed greater than 5,000 kilos, which meant they donated greater than $5,000 to the trigger.

“I am over the moon, crammed with pleasure concerning the occasion as we speak and that everyone confirmed up in assist,” Repetti mentioned.

The U.S. Supreme Courtroom’s reversal of Roe v. Wade did not sit properly together with her.

“There’s a number of girls who got here earlier than me who fought for this. To see that each one simply gone, it is upsetting,” she mentioned. “Abortion is well being care. Now we have to proceed to assist abortion entry for everybody.”

For the reason that Supreme Courtroom resolution, a number of states have taken steps to limit abortion entry. On Saturday, Indiana lawmakers moved a step nearer to a near-total abortion ban.

Though abortion rights aren’t at present threatened in California, some contributors instructed KPIX they felt compelled to point out assist for girls throughout the nation.

“It is on all of our minds now,” mentioned Emma Schultz. “I am from Georgia and Tennessee so it is undoubtedly one thing near my coronary heart. We need to attempt to donate and assist girls all over the place.”

“We wished to come back out and assist and be empathetic and never cease preventing till everyone has this entry,” mentioned Jennifer Hauseman.