Indianapolis, Indiana – Thousands of abortion rights supporters flooded the capitol complex grounds Saturday, a little more than 24 hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade.
“I’m furious and I’m pissed off, and I deserve every right that a man has and I’m highly disappointed, but I’m pissed and I think a lot of people here are,” Kate Blair, Director of Advocacy for the ACLU said.
Abortion rights opponents are also anxious about what the state legislature may do when it convenes next month for a special session. Its possible lawmakers could consider a total ban on abortion statewide, regardless of whether a woman became pregnant due to sexual assault.
Some of the abortion-rights activists ventured over to a small prayer service being held by Right to Life Indianapolis. State police dispersed the crowd without incident. “Right now there are about 8,000 abortions in the state of Indiana, and our goal is to make that zero. For that to happen, we have to be there for these women that are having abortions, but we have to be there to protect the innocent human life in the world,” Right to Life President Matt Tuttle said.
According to Tuttle, by overturning Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court gave states like Indiana an opportunity to protect life, while giving women access to as many resources as they need to have a successful pregnancy. “We have over 120 pregnancy care centers in the state. All of them are private, but there are dozens of state programs in place right now that are here to serve the needs of women,” Tuttle added.
For abortion supporters, the Supreme Court’s ruling is jeopardizing the physical and mental health of women all over the state. “It’s a rollback of our protection and of our own bodily autonomy. It makes us second-class citizens,” Blair said.
While states are now allowed to craft their own abortion laws, it is against federal law for states to ban women from traveling to another state where abortion is allowed, according to the Department of Justice.
