Mourning the dawn of Indiana's abortion law, protesters gather at Monroe County Courthouse

Over a hundred people gathered closely together in the lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse to hear a modified version of the Jewish ceremony Havdalah. As one member spoke a Hebrew prayer, another carefully guarded a braided candle against intruding winds.

In Jewish tradition, the ceremony separates the holy day of Shabbat from an average day. It separates rest and work, lightness and darkness, Hoosier Jews for Choice member Sue Swartz explained. On Wednesday night, vigil organizers marked this as a separation between having abortion rights and not having them.

"Through this ritual, we mark the end of an era of full rights and a transition into a darker time," Swartz said.

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People gathered in Bloomington Wednesday to express their opposition to Senate Bill 1. It was the day before Indiana's near total abortion ban was to become the first statewide legislation to take effect post-overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The event was organized by Hoosier Jews for Choice and Monroe County NOW with several local co-sponsors such as All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center and Monroe County Women’s Commission. Elly Cohen, co-chair of Hoosier Jews for Choice, noted the event was intended to inspire people to become politically active and gather closely within a sense of community.

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Jess Marchbank, state programs manager at All-Options Pregnancy Resource Center, noted she was tired and sad as she stepped up to the crowd of demonstrators at the Monroe County Courthouse. In the final few days before the law was to take effect, Marchbank had fielded calls from people seeking to terminate their pregnancy before access was heavily restricted across the state. Marchbank shared some anecdotes about what it was like.

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"We know that most people who need abortion are already parents. They may be suddenly struggling to provide enough diapers for their little ones or unable to afford the exorbitant cost of rent, health insurance or child care," Marchbank said. "They're also just people who aren't ready to have a child for a multitude of reasons, and those reasons don't matter. What matters is honoring their bodily autonomy."

In April, All-Options financially assisted 90 people seeking an abortion through its Hoosier Abortion Fund. In August, that number jumped to 370 people, totaling nearly $100,000. The spike in coverage was not because more people were seeking an abortion, Marchbank explained, but All-Options had more funding from a recent outpour of donations.

While they have had to turn people away in the past due to lack of funding, Marchbank said All-Options has not turned away anyone eligible seeking financial coverage for abortion care for the past two weeks. Eligibility only required the caller either lived in Indiana or was coming to Indiana.

Marchbank said she is working with partners in Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania to ensure people can get financial help to travel out of state for abortion care. She said All-Options will continue advocacy work and provide all options for pregnant people who need assistance. All-Options is one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that intends to stop implementation of the law.

Marchbank was one of several speakers to express frustration at the legislation and urge residents not to give up the fight for abortion access in Indiana. Several political leaders spoke at the event, including state Rep. Shelli Yoder, all three Monroe County commissioners and Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton.

At various points, demonstrators took part in chants, cheers and vocal expressions of frustration and anger over the impending legislation.

Attendees Sam Ryan and her friends described being disappointed but unsurprised that Indiana was the first U.S. state to pass and enact a ban on most abortions.

"I have never been more pro-choice than when I was pregnant. It was incredibly difficult, and forcing anyone to do that is just unjust. It's not right," Sam Ryan said.

She attended the vigil with her 2-year-old daughter, Sonja, because she wanted to expose her to protesting at an early age.

"It's her world, too, and it'll affect her sooner than I wish it would. I want her to know that she has a voice and can make changes," Ryan said.

Attendee Shania Omega is a recent IU graduate. While she was still in school, Omega worked in a lab that researched maternal mortality and non-traditional birth care workers. There she was exposed to the reality that many local women lack access to vital health care resources.

For Omega, this vigil was about being able to reinforce women's rights, something she says is still achievable despite new obstacles.

"Also, as a Black woman, realistically speaking, we have always been fighting for justice. We've always been fighting for change. So yes, this law is going into effect, but at the end of the day, this is just one more barrier before we get success, before we're able to turn it over," Omega said.

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Semhar Araya is the vice president of Indiana University's chapter of the NAACP. She was a key speaker at the vigil, where she spoke about her experience as a black woman in Indiana and how restrictions on abortion care disproportionately impact people of color.

"Don't let this be the end of our fight," Araya said. "We know that we need representation. I feel like we do not have representatives that represented what we think. So just be registered to vote, and when you're voting, think about people that aren't able to vote, whether they're immigrants or under (the voting) age. Think about the next generation."

Omega added people should vote for representation in every level of government.

"Ultimately, they also are the people that advocate for us on some level. So if we're only voting for a state senator and we never take time to vote for people in the lower positions, we face the same kinds of issues," Omega said.

Other organizations are also fighting back through the legal system. A lawsuit filed in Monroe Circuit Court by the ACLU of Indiana on behalf of Indiana abortion clinics and providers will be considered in the county. Hoosier Jews for Choice is a plaintiff in another lawsuit arguing the abortion ban violates the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which prevents the government from impeding someone's religious exercise unless there's a strong argument in favor of the state's interest.

According to Cohen, in Judaism, personhood doesn't begin until birth. She also noted Jewish law allows abortion if that person's life is at risk, "and that risk can be defined rather broadly."

"The abortion ban is underscored by a particular and narrow understanding of personhood in a pregnancy that is rooted in a particular Christian ideology that goes against the Jewish tradition and beliefs that I uphold and my community upholds," Cohen said.

Speakers also urged others to support abortion rights through donations to funds that cover out-of-state travel for abortion access.

"Educate yourself. Educate your community. Explain why this is important," Cohen said. "I think we also need to find community of like-minded people, so we can work together and figure out what we're gonna do."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County vigil marks end of abortion access in Indiana