'It's about freedom': Rally for abortion rights in South Bend after Roe v. Wade overturned

SOUTH BEND — Julie Hyndman's "Keep Abortion Legal" sign is 20 years old.

The self-described wallflower has been quietly attending rallies in support of abortion rights since the 1980s. She thought for sure she could retire her National Organization for Women insignia back in 2004.

But, after the United States Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health decision Friday morning, Hyndman said she knew it was time to dig the purple poster out of the back of her closet.

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"It's about freedom," Hyndman said, reflecting on the Supreme Court's decision Friday. "I knew this was their goal. This has been the goal since the '80s, but it still hurts."

Hyndman was one of more than a hundred who rallied outside the Morris Performing Arts Center in downtown South Bend on Friday night after the Supreme Court's decision earlier that morning to overturn Roe v. Wade and send authority to legislate abortion access back to the states for the first time in 50 years.

In Indiana, that means new restrictions on abortion practices could be decided by state lawmakers as early as next month.

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb said in a statement Friday that he expects lawmakers to take up the issue in a special legislative session originally called for the purpose of returning state money to Hoosiers amid rising inflation. That session begins July 6.

Through their statements Friday, state lawmakers appear poised to restrict abortion access. Questions remain, however, about whether such restrictions will allow exceptions for rape, incest or the health of someone who is pregnant.

"We need to mourn, but organize," Former Democratic Congressional candidate Pat Hackett said Friday. "We must elect candidates in the midterms and then in 2024 who will destroy the filibuster ... and we must pass laws protecting women's reproductive rights and ... the equality of all persons."

The South Bend rally brought out faith leaders, community activists and South Bend Mayor James Mueller. Caz Margeneu walked around the crowd Friday with a sign reading “Register to vote. Check your status.”

“That’s the big, big question, whether people are registered to vote and then we're going to pull them in and make sure they vote,” she said.

Karen Nemes, who jumped to action Friday morning to organize the downtown rally for the group Pro Choice South Bend, said she feels drawn to ensuring the community has accurate information about resources like the National Abortion Federation, abortionfinder.com and the National Network of Abortion Funds now that Indiana appears set to follow the path of more than a dozen states that have already restricted abortion through "trigger laws."

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"Friends have urged me to leave the area for years," Nemes said, adding she stays in Indiana because of the community. "We need people working at the state level pressuring state legislatures because that's where a lot of these draconian laws are coming through."

Whole Woman's Health Alliance CEO Amy Hagstrom Miller told The Tribune earlier this month that her organization's South Bend location — the city's only abortion clinic — will continue providing the procedure as long as it's legal in Indiana. If the state bans abortion, Hagstrom Miller said, the national organization will be committed to providing care to those who travel to states where abortion remains legal.

Jean DeWinter, a volunteer escort for the clinic who has had an abortion, encouraged supporters to speak up about their choice.

If you have had an abortion, talk about it," DeWinter said. "Encourage people to ask you about your experience and tell them why it was necessary for you. This breaks negative stigma at the root and encourages compassion and empathy."

Astrid Bowman was one of several to share that story. The mother of two said she has a medical condition that brought difficulty during her pregnancies.

Bowman said the children she carried to term were "a miracle," but was quick to add that she experienced support in ways some people of color do not.

"My family allowed me to be bedridden for nine months, sick in the hospital," Bowman said. "I fight for the women who don't have access to health care."

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Brandi “Bee” Picton-Prater, who also attended Friday's rally, was 25 and already a mother when she had an abortion. With her son not even a year old, Picton-Prater said, she was still adjusting to motherhood when she learned she was pregnant again. Given her experience, she felt drawn to rally for those who have also pursued abortion.

“A vast majority of women who end up getting abortions live in poverty,” she said. “It's not that they don't want to go through their pregnancy. They literally cannot.”

Kathy Liggett, who carried stickers Friday night encouraging supporters to vote for change, said she was in college when Roe v. Wade was decided. She said she still remembers watching her high school classmates grapple with difficult decisions in the pre-Roe area.

"They had to go out of state, spend a lot of money for abortion access, and use their own horrible methodology for ending a pregnancy," Liggett said. "It is just appalling to see us turning back this way."

Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Carley Lanich at clanich@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @carleylanich.

Email Alysa Guffey at aguffey1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlysaGuffeyNews.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend abortion right activists gather after Roe v Wade overturned