More than 100 attend Jeffersonville pro-choice rally
Jun. 30—SOUTHERN INDIANA — A sea of signs could be seen at Quartermaster Court in Jeffersonville on Wednesday afternoon as more than 100 people attended a pro-choice rally organized by two local teenagers.
Effie Alexander, 18, of Jeffersonville and Kate Geswein, 17, and originally from New Albany, started planning the rally earlier this week.
Alexander said she had thought it would be maybe 20 people who attend Jeffersonville High School who would show up. Instead some people said they drove for at least two hours to get there.
"Even though we are young, we still have our rights," Alexander said. "We still have fears. I have a little sister. I have aunts, and personally for me, I just want, even though I'm 18, I want to to use my voice to protect people I love."
Geswein, who now lives in Louisville, wanted to be part of the demonstration. Geswein said they want Indiana legislators to think of their constituents when they vote on the state's abortion laws during a special legislative session next month.
"(They need to) acknowledge yes, politics and politicians are part of that realm, but your realm and your decision affects more than just you and your term," Geswein said. "It affects real people and real lives."
Indiana does not have a trigger law, which means abortion is still legal in the state, despite the U.S. Supreme Court decision last week that overturned the federal right to abortion and sent that decision back to the states.
Indiana's lawmakers were set to meet next month for a special session regarding inflation starting on July 6 when the Supreme Court made its ruling. After the ruling, the governor added abortion laws to the session. But, as of Wednesday, the session is delayed until July 25.
Anti-abortion demonstrators also attended the event.
Teens David Howard, Ben Estes and Garet Colburn all said they are opposed to abortion.
Howard said he thinks abortion is the most crucial issue the country is facing.
"It was really important for me to come out here and stand for life," he said. "Because I want to stand for those who don't have a voice."
Colburn said that he is a Catholic and attended the rally to spread the word of what he's trying to do. He said the intention isn't to take away a woman's rights.
"What we want to do is make the world a safer and better place for people," he said. "What we are trying to do right now is make people understand why we think abortion is murder and why we think it needs to be abolished."
Jeffersonville resident Jo Wagner is pro-choice and said she attended because she feels people could lose more established rights.
"I feel like this is just the starting point," Wagner said. "They're going to start putting laws in place to take all our rights. It's not only about women or people with uteruses. It's a domino effect."
In his concurring opinion to the Dobbs vs. Jackson case that overturned Roe v. Wade, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argued the Supreme Court "should reconsider" past rulings concerning same-sex marriage, contraception access and same-sex relationships.
Galen Zavala Sherby and Brady Alexander are Louisville residents who attended the rally.
"We figured we'd show our support because it's something that's obviously as much as a problem in Kentucky as it is here," Zavala Sherby said. "As a result of the direction the country is going right now we know that people are under attack in both of our states."
