"We are fighting to get them back": East Alabama residents march for women's reproductive rights

East Alabama residents came out on Saturday in support of women's reproductive rights within Etowah County, hosting a march that allowed them to peacefully oppose the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a landmark case in 1973 that granted abortion rights.

"We are here because abortion is healthcare, and you're not going to take away my right to choose just like you would take away others' rights," said march organizer Tabatha Vaughn. "We no longer have full rights in Alabama, and we want people to know we aren't going down easy."

The Women's Reproductive Health Rights March began at 6 p.m. at the YMCA on Broad Street, which allowed marchers to make the walk up to Gadsden City Hall and back.

Many marchers chanted and carried handmade signs in support of the movement, with sayings and chants such as "Stars and stripes and women's rights" and "My body, my choice!"

"I have a 16-year-old daughter, and I worry about her not having rights to her own body," said Jennifer Knapp, who brought her family from Oxford, "We came in from Calhoun County and they did not have anything planned there, so we decided to come here and share our voices."

"I wanted to be able to protect our rights," added Sherri Dejong, another participant. "If we don't stand up now, who knows where this will go."

Some of the goals set out by the march, according to Vaughn, included letting lawmakers know that those fighting to protect abortion rights will not go down without a fight.

"We are not fighting for our rights anymore. We are fighting to get them back," she explained. "It's about time that people realize that their beliefs do not dictate everybody else."

The march also featured keynote speaker Dr. Jazma Dobbins, owner of Gadsden Pelvic Rehab.

"Approximately 38% of my patients in pelvic rehab today are victims of sexual assault at some point in their lives," she said. "If a pregnancy is the result of that assault, she has to carry that pregnancy to term because of Alabama's trigger laws that are already in effect."

Vaughn added that Alabama's abortion laws are the "most restrictive" out of all the states, with many people not knowing that they have already went into effect.

"They were voted on in 2019 and blocked in court because they are the most restrictive in the country. And they are not going to stop there. They are coming for your right to privacy and contraception and the right to be a free American."

Dobbins explained that the protest "wasn't even about children," but the right to body autonomy.

"It's about the right to do what we will with our own bodies, and it's about equal body autonomy," she said, "We deserve that. These decisions should be made heavily by the woman and not by the attorney general."

Some local political candidates came out to show support for the march, including Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives Rick Neighbors.

"It's these people here that brought me out to this march," he said. "The Supreme Court has made a horrible decision to roll back the idea of liberty over 200 years. I'm glad these folks are willing to stand up, and I wanted to help be a voice with them."

Dobbins said abortion was not a political issue when the Roe v. Wade decision was handed down, citing that the Southern Baptist Convention is on record in 1977 saying it was in support of it in many states, which was not repealed until the 1980s.

"It has not always been political and polarized," she said. "The media and the political machines have caused this. It's about women's bodies and our right to body autonomy."

Ultimately, Vaughn hopes the march causes people in Gadsden and surrounding communities to become encouraged and educated.

""We want to spread the word," she said, "and I hope that other people see and hear that."

Organizers hope to hold another rally in late August that includes pro-choice political candidates from all major political parties.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: East Alabama residents march for women's reproductive rights