Abortion rights protests erupt in Rogue Valley
Jun. 25—Protests erupted in the Rogue Valley Friday night as residents who support abortion rights decried the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide.
"I can't believe we've just lost this right we've had for 50 years. Women all over the country are terrified tonight," Ashland resident Kathy Carter said as she stood in Vogel Plaza in downtown Medford with others from Medford, Central Point, Phoenix, Ashland and other towns.
She said the decision impacts girls, boys, women and men. Unplanned pregnancy will destroy their plans for their lives, Carter said.
A crowd of more than 100 people chanted and waved signs at the Medford protest. They erupted into appreciative cheers whenever drivers passing by honked their horns in solidarity.
Some drivers loudly revved their engines and sped by within feet of people on the sidewalk in a show of intimidation. One man nearly spun out of control, but was able to correct his car before hitting anyone.
"There's more support from people than people not supporting us. I'm happily surprised. This has made me feel better," Carter said.
Abortion will remain legal and accessible in Oregon, where the Oregon Legislature has passed some of the strongest protections in the nation. But about half of states are expected to enact abortion bans, including a broad swath of Southern states from South Carolina on the Atlantic coast to Texas, plus Midwest states and Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona and possibly Montana in the West.
Oregon, Washington and California announced Friday they'll team up to help with the influx of girls and women from other states who will come to the West Coast seeking abortions. Most Northeast states and some Great Lakes states are expected to preserve abortion rights as well.
Since hearing the news early Friday of the Supreme Court decision, Carter said she's been thinking about ways she can aid women from other states who need abortions.
She may help through the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, which helps people cover the expenses of getting an abortion, including travel costs.
"There are a flood of people wanting to help," Carter said.
Longer term, Carter said she plans to step up her political activism, and hopes more people will be motivated to research issues and candidates and vote.
Kaia, a Medford teenager who asked that her last name not be used, said she moved to Oregon from Ohio because of what she felt was a repressive climate in her home state.
"I already know people from my hometown who want to move out West. We want to live where we can be happy. I really feel for the people I left back there. They'll feel the effects," she said.
Kaia said Americans now live in a country where some people have fundamental rights and others don't.
"It makes us a divided country," she said.
Kaia said her mom didn't sugar-coat the facts of life when talking to her. Some of her mom's friends had abortions when they were too young to adequately care for children. They later had kids when their lives were stable and established, and their families now have good lives.
Kaia's friend at the Medford rally, who asked that her name not be used, said more children will be born to parents who aren't ready to care for them.
"This will put more children in the foster system and will increase the number of children experiencing neglect," she said.
Medford resident Jess Parrish said abortion bans in other states will cause people to seek illegal, unsafe abortions.
She heard about the Supreme Court's decision Friday morning after getting a social media message from an upset friend in Alabama. Parrish said Oregonians will help girls and women from other states.
"We'll welcome them with open arms while we still have that right. I'm afraid of coat hangers. Young girls will still seek abortions, and they'll hurt themselves. Abortion is health care," Parrish said.
She said she hopes the Supreme Court decision will mobilize abortion rights supporters to vote, but she fears the decision will also invigorate the other side.
Parrish said the decision could lay the groundwork for bans on some forms of contraception, the morning-after pill and medication abortion.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority that overturned Roe v. Wade, said the decision about the right to privacy from government interference only targets abortion. However, Justice Clarence Thomas, who also sided with the majority, wrote his own separate opinion saying the Supreme Court should reconsider past cases that legalized contraception, gay sex and same-sex marriage.
Polls show a majority of Americans support abortion rights, but three conservative justices appointed by then-President Donald Trump tipped the Supreme Court to a 6-3 conservative majority.
Steven Essig, one of the scattered men at the Medford protest, said he came out to show solidarity with women. He said abortion bans will impact men as well.
"I couldn't imagine how terrifying it would be to be a good guy who makes a mistake and gets someone pregnant — and there's nothing they or the woman could do," he said.
Essig said the Supreme Court decision could be used to ban same-sex marriage, interracial marriage and LGBT+ rights.
In Ashland, a crowd that ranged from teens to senior citizens gathered on the downtown Plaza Friday evening. They also waved signs and cheered at the honks of supportive people driving by.
James Robertson, who will start high school this fall, said he's personally opposed to abortion, but believes others should have the right to make decisions for themselves.
"We're not getting rid of it — we're kind of just getting rid of the safe version of it," he said.
Rhonda Lee of Women's March Southern Oregon, who helped organize the protest, said her phone started buzzing with news of the Supreme Court decision Friday morning.
A draft opinion leaked in May showed a high court majority planned to overturn Roe v. Wade, but some people expected more moderate language in the final version — especially after mass protests erupted across the nation.
"I wasn't surprised, but I didn't think it would be as egregious as it is," Lee said. "I didn't think it was going to take down Roe v. Wade, I didn't."
Lee said she felt shocked, disappointed and threatened.
"I took my dog for a walk and cried for about 15 minutes, and went, 'OK, it's time to put the armor back on,'" she said.
Alison Duren-Sutherland, a candidate for the Unitarian Universalist ministry who hopes to be ordained in a year, held aloft a sign.
"My sign says, 'Here's what Jesus had to say about abortion: nothing.' In the whole Bible. Other literature written at the time describes abortion, so it was something women had done and were doing. But Jesus cared more about how people treated the poor, the orphans, the most marginalized," Duren-Sutherland said.
She said her faith calls on her to respect the bodily autonomy of others.
Jerome Ball, a man at the Ashland protest, said he thinks the Supreme Court decision is just the tip of a very big iceberg when it comes to individuals' rights over their own bodies.
"It opens the door, I think, for a lot more invasion into our personal lives. Regardless of whether you're male or female, pro-choice or anti-abortion, gay or straight, or whatever," he said.
Ayala Stonewood, 15, said she remembers learning about the Roe v. Wade case in school. She said the Supreme Court's decision overturning the case is unfathomable to her.
"Making abortions illegal isn't going to stop them from happening. It's going to stop them from happening safely. There's going to be more back alley abortions and more people are going to die," she said.
Isiah Totten, also 15, said he was shocked by the Supreme Court's decision.
"I didn't actually think this was going to happen. It just seemed so absurd," he said. "What if they take away more rights? Just thinking about how we're taking steps backward, we don't want to see how far this can go. We want to take steps forward as a society."
Reach Mail Tribune reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or valdous@rosebudmedia.com. Reach Mail Tribune reporter Morgan Rothborne at mrothborne@rosebudmedia.com or 541-776-4487.
