Second Pro-Choice Protest Takes Place Over July 4th Weekend
Second Pro-Choice Protest Takes Place Over July 4th Weekend
Posted
David L. Slone-
Second Pro-Choice Protest Takes Place Over July 4th WeekendBefore demonstrating at the Right To Life office on South Buffalo Street on Sunday, protesters gathered at Central Park to march through downtown Warsaw.
This was the second pro-choice protest within a week, with the first one held June 27 at the county courthouse, drawing about two dozen people, mostly women. Sunday’s event initially drew three dozen people, including about six children with their parents. The plan was to protest at Right To Life for at least an hour with anyone welcome to join them.
A third pro-choice gathering is planned for 5 p.m. July 15 at the county courthouse, according to a Facebook post shared on the Times-Union Facebook page.
The protests come after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24 overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that said women had a constitutional right to abortion. The court, in a 6-3 ruling by the conservative majority, upheld a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The vote to overturn Roe was 5-4 with Chief Justice John Roberts writing that he would have upheld the Mississippi law without negating the Roe precedent. It is now up to each individual state to make their own laws regarding abortion.
Katey Walls and Makaela Whitfield participated in the June 27 protest and organized and led Sunday’s event through Facebook. About 80 people said online that they were interested in the event.
Before the protest, Walls and Whitfield read a prepared message on why they were protesting the court’s overturning of Roe.
“We believe that pregnant people should have a choice to make the right decision for them and their family. Making abortions illegal doesn’t stop them, it just stops safe ones,” Walls said.
Whitfield said, “Abortion is fundamental health care and health care is a human right. At the end of the day, any pregnant person should have the body autonomy and should not be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will. Although opposers might think protesting does nothing, we believe protesting brings awareness and education to the public and people who may not be informed otherwise. And our hope of this is to educate people and ultimately get them to the polls to vote, which is where the real change happens.”
Both of the women, who have lived in the Warsaw area most of their lives, know that Kosciusko County is predominantly Republican and pro-life.
“I think that even though this is a conservative area, there are a lot of people who do support pro-choice ultimately,” Whitfield said. “At the last protest, I would say we had a lot of support - more support than people saying we want to murder babies.”
Walls said they’re “definitely” going to have more protests. If they have more, they will set it as a Facebook event for people to be aware of them, as well as share it with any local media.
“We’re just two young people who want to make a difference, whether it’s small or large,” Whitfield said. “... I want people to know that their opinion and voice does matter, and if we want anything to change, we all have to participate in being the change.”
“And I think also it’s important that people know that they can really do anything to make a change. They can share posts on social media. They can protest. They can vote. They can talk to family members, their friends. All of that makes a huge difference, whether they think it does or not,” Walls said.
Davnie Owens was one of Sunday’s protesters said she was there because, “I’m upset. It’s not just about me, it’s about my daughter. Something happens to her in the future she may not have an option. She may be traumatized or dead and I’m not OK with that.”
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb called for a special session of the state legislature July 6 to enact his inflation relief proposal that will send $225 to anyone who filed taxes in the state in 2021. That special session has been delayed until July 25 and is expected to include some type of legislation regarding abortion. Currently, abortion in Indiana is banned after 22 weeks of pregnancy, with some provisions for medical emergencies.
Owens said she hopes the protests show the state legislature “how many of us are angry and we don’t like this, we don’t want this. We don’t want women to die.”
Lauren Sponseller, a protester from Etna Green, said she came out to show her support for being pro-choice. It was her first pro-choice march.
“I think that I just hope that the Indiana lawmakers and people in our county hear us and see us and that hopefully Indiana doesn’t overturn it as a state. I would like us to see Indiana keep the ability for women to make that choice for themselves. Keep the laws off of our bodies,” Sponseller stated.
