Central Minnesotans tell their stories, react to possibility Roe v. Wade could be overturned
Around 30 people gathered Tuesday evening on the steps of the Stearns County Courthouse in downtown St. Cloud to rally for pro-choice legislation, share personal stories and acknowledge the fear many women are experiencing following the news that the nation's highest court may strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which established a constitutional right to abortion.
North Dakota and South Dakota have laws that would trigger almost total bans on abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. In Minnesota, however, the Doe v. Gomez ruling establishes abortion as a constitutional right.
Some of the speakers Tuesday night included Democrat political candidates, including Tami Calhoun, who is running for the Minnesota House of Representatives District 14A seat, House District 13B candidate Leah Beack; Sixth District congressional candidate Jeanne Hendricks and Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, who addressed the gathering via speakerphone from St. Paul.
Women shared stories about their personal experiences with abortion and miscarriage, sometimes through tears. One woman said she had survived seven miscarriages; another woman talked about someone in her family who died as a result of an unsafe abortion in the 1930s. Another person spoke about how many doctors refused to perform a tubal ligation because they didn't have children already or a have their husband's permission, despite the fact that a pregnancy would have been life-threatening.
'The government needs to be out of it'
Residents gathered at the courthouse said they fear access to contraception could be limited in the future and that other established precedents, including the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, could be overturned by a highly politicized court.
"I'm sad and shocked and feel like as a nation we're going backwards. My concern is about health care and access to health care. This closes the door for women, men, to get health care," Calhoun said. "It should be privately between the person and the medical provider. The government needs to be out of it."
"I think a day like today, in a moment like this, in a crisis like this, we have to acknowledge where we are before we think about where we're going. And to me, that means we have to acknowledge the hurt that a lot of people woke up with this morning when they read the news," said Putnam. "We have to realize that a lot of us felt like lesser citizens today than they did yesterday, felt less free today than they did yesterday."
More: If Roe v. Wade is overturned, here's how abortion laws in each state will stand
Pro-life advocates celebrate
St. Cloud resident Brody Hagemeier, who manages the Facebook group St. Cloud for Life, said earlier Tuesday that one of his passions has been to stop abortion and "provide life-affirming options to mothers or anyone else who faces challenging pregnancies."
Places like the Pregnancy Resource Center, with two locations in St. Cloud, help people explore options other than abortion, provide for their spiritual needs and offer relationship counseling before, during and after a baby is born, he said.
When he heard Roe v. Wade could be overturned, Hagemeier said, "I think that's extremely exciting. This is great news for women. It's great news for the right to life."
"I want to see abortion ended. And this is a great step forward in that case if the draft [decision] is going to become reality, because abortion hurts women and kills children. And I believe that we as a society can do better than that," he said. "A lot of moms, unfortunately, are seduced into thinking that 'Oh, if this option is legal, it must be safe or must be legitimate and must be consequence free. Because otherwise it probably wouldn't be legal.' A lot of mothers who have had abortions often look back with regret thinking, 'I wish I knew there were other options.'"
Julie Spore, executive director of the Pregnancy Resource Center, said in an email to the St. Cloud Times this is an exciting time and she is very hopeful the court will overturn Roe v. Wade.
"The issue of abortion should be returned to the states where the will of the people elect representatives," she wrote. "It's so important that we keep working — harder than ever — supporting women in an unexpected pregnancy and protecting their unborn children. After nearly 33 years in operation, PRC has never had a client come back to us to say she wishes she would have aborted her child."
More: What happens if Roe v. Wade is overturned? What we know about Supreme Court's leaked draft
'A dramatic effect on the daily life of every American'
In a virtual press conference with Planned Parenthood CEO Sarah Stoesz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Wednesday morning, the two talked about the impact of a Roe v. Wade reversal in Minnesota.
On Tuesday, Stoesz said in a press conference Minnesota clinics could see a 10%-25% increase in patients seeking abortion care if Roe v. Wade is overturned. She emphasized the importance of standing up for reproductive rights and voting in the 2022 election and beyond.
"Every single day we hear patients' stories. From our young people who are just not ready to be parents, some [who] are already parents and they're not ready to have more children. Some of them have conditions like ectopic pregnancies where their lives are actually at risk for pregnancy," Stoesz said. "All of them have made the decision that is best for them and their families. Our patients are exercising their rights to control their bodies and their futures."
Ellison said the reversal of Roe v. Wade "will have a dramatic effect on the daily life of every American," and talked about how other rights could be "stripped away" like the right to choose birth control, marry a partner of a different race, the right to be intimate with a person of your choice and the right to marry someone of the same sex, among others.
The attorney general also questioned what enforcement of anti-abortion laws could look like and criticized the "hyper-politicization of the Supreme Court," which he argued undermines the legitimacy of the Legislature, where elected officials are the ones who write and carry out the law.
"We know that the vast majority of Americans and Minnesotans agree with us on this issue. And the people who stack the Supreme Court don't want you to have a voice. They want to just control how you choose to live the most personal and intimate parts of your life. You should demand a voice … and offer a vision of hope for a better future, not despair," he said. "Despair never persuaded anyone in the world to do anything better. Despair does not change the world. But organizing and hopeful, diligent work does. And that's what we need right now."
Becca Most is a cities reporter with the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-241-8213 or bmost@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter at @becca_most.
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This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Leaked Roe v. Wade draft draws reaction from Central Minnesotans
