Cass County citizens protest overturn of Roe v. Wade
Jul. 3—Two women sat on the sidewalk with a box of wire coat hangers between them. As cars drove by, they chanted, "Medical supplies! Get your free medical supplies!"
The women were with a group gathered at the Veteran's Memorial on the corner of E. Broadway Street and Fourth Street on Saturday to protest the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
"People are going to die because of it," said Annelisse Rodriguez, one of the protest's organizers. "People are going to risk their lives. People are going to hurt, be damaged, and cause trauma. I don't want any of that. I want us to have choices."
It took a few days for Rodriguez to process the Supreme Court's ruling. The decision bothered her, so she decided to take action.
"It was itching at my soul," she said. "I needed to do something about it. Then I finally met somebody else that was willing to do something about it, and that's the main reason we're here."
The protesters held up bright handmade signs as they chanted, "My body, my choice." They received numerous honks and waves from supporters as cars drove by.
Rodriguez said she was pleasantly surprised that about 20 people showed up. Comments on social media said the protest would not make a difference, but Rodriguez said she did not let that stop her.
Abortion rights are also particularly important to Lillianne Plummer, the protest's other organizer. She has polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal disorder with symptoms like irregular periods, weight gain, and infertility. Women with PCOS have a higher chance of developing complications during pregnancy.
"I've had three miscarriages and I've had to have three D and Cs. That is considered an abortion even though my fetus was already dead," Plummer said. "That's still considered an abortion. In today's time, if I were to have another one, it's possible- not in Indiana yet, but (yet is) the big word there, (and) if I was in Texas- I would have no choice but to lay there and die or go to prison. That's very scary."
The Indiana General Assembly will meet in a special session on July 25 to discuss abortion. Republican lawmakers and Gov. Eric Holcomb have discussed plans to restrict abortion access in Indiana.
Plummer said it is important for everyone to understand how limiting abortion will impact them and their families. One of her main goals for the protest was to make people think and start a conversation.
"I really wanted to bring awareness to it in our small town because if it's in their face they can't scroll up on Facebook and get away from it. They can't change the channel and not see it anymore. It's right there in their face," she said. "They have to stop at the stoplights. They have to look at us. Even if they're not really looking at us, they're still seeing us."
The protesters had an incident where a truck pulled to the side of the road to yell obscenities at them, but Plummer said the group chanted, "My body, my choice," so loud that they couldn't hear him.
"I understand that everyone has a right to their opinion, but you don't have the right to an opinion if it encroaches on my bodily autonomy, my rights, my choices, or my life," Plummer said. " ... Being pro-choice doesn't mean that I'm pro-killing babies. Being pro-choice means I have the choice to get an abortion if I want one, to not get an abortion if I don't want one, and if I don't agree with it for myself, that doesn't mean that I get to disregard every other woman's bodily autonomy. Pro-choice isn't pro-murder. It's pro-human rights."
Tanya Rickerd said it is uplifting to see how many people are against overturning Roe v. Wade, but she's upset that the protest had to happen in the first place.
"They don't realize how many people will die," she said.
Rickerd's sister has a rare muscle disease. If her sister were to get pregnant, Rickerd said she would have to either have an abortion or die during pregnancy.
Protestor Mazzie Schwering also said she believes banning abortion will take more lives than it saves. She said women everywhere need access to abortion and implored people to imagine their own family members in that position.
"Banning abortion doesn't ban abortions," she said. "It bans safe abortions."
Sabrina Click saw the protest advertised on TikTok and wanted to get involved. Her daughter had a miscarriage and had to have a dilation and cutterage (D and C) to remove the fetus. Click said she is scared that the procedure will soon be banned in some states.
"I never thought in a million years I'd see (Roe v. Wade) turned over," she said. "My mom was a teenager in the 1960's. Her and I were talking the other day about it and she remembers life before Roe v. Wade. It was scary."
Beverly Hall, Plummer's grandmother, also remembers what it was like before Roe v. Wade. Her oldest daughter was born in 1973, the year Roe v. Wade decriminalized abortion.
"I didn't know anybody personally that had an abortion, but I had people who were close to me who would tell me horror stories about women coming into the emergency room and they couldn't stop the bleeding," she said.
While Hall said she personally would not choose abortion herself, she believes women should have the right to choose. She drove to Logansport from Indianapolis so she could join the protest.
"I have a great granddaughter that's on the way. I have four granddaughters and three daughters, and I never thought that I was going to have to do this again," she said. "I thought the world would be better for women, for them, than it was for me."
