'We must not back down.' Reproductive rights supporters rally in downtown Kent

Since the leak of a draft opinion in May telegraphing the U.S Supreme Court's intent, the elimination of abortion rights has been hanging over the nation like the sword of Damocles.

On Friday, the court made good on the draft, overturning Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 decision, abolishing nearly 50 years of precedent guaranteeing Americans the Constitutional right to an abortion.

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In response, the Kent State University chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society held a rally on Kent's courthouse steps protesting the decision mere hours after the ruling came down. They were met with supportive honks and waves from the traffic passing on East Main Street interspersed with the occasional exchange of expletives.

In addition to the protest, the Kent SDS has also initiated an email campaign aimed at eliciting support from Kent State University's President Todd Diacon. A link posted on their Facebook page allows people to send a pre-composed email to President Diacon.

Fionna Fisher, a student organizer with SDS, said that while the news didn't catch the organization unaware due to last month's leak, seeing the blow coming didn't lessen its impact.

"It is enraging and saddening to see that our government does not uphold human rights, does not uphold women's rights," Fisher said.

The people attending the rally echoed Fisher's frustrations in their own ways.

Upsetting Jacie Bivins is the idea that a handful of men on the Supreme Court can decide the fate of reproductive rights for millions.

Sydney Brown said that the decision has left them feeling "very scared, nervous, just terrified."

Keri Speicher found the ruling "unbelievable," adding that this move by the Supreme Court will do nothing to stop abortion, it will only make abortion unsafe.

"How about the government stays out of our business," Speicher said when asked about an appropriate remedy to the situation.

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Speicher, a family nurse practitioner currently working in a gynecologist office, said that since May she's seen anxiety over the loss of abortion rights manifest itself in her patients.

"Young women coming in wanting to know about their IUDs — are they going to be able to get IUDs, is contraception going to be available to them, how do they get contraception, is emergency contraception going to be available, is that right going to be taken away from them," Speicher said, but expressed some hope that women would find a way to access the healthcare they need.

Clarifying her position, Speicher said that while she doesn't necessarily condone abortion, she absolutely supports a women's autonomy over her body, calling it a "God given right."

Speicher continued, saying that the people championing the rights of unborn don't extend that support once the child is born. "Nobody cares if these kids go home and have a hot meal on the table, no one's looking at that."

"This is about control of women, period, end of story. That's where this is going to end," she said.

Shortly after 6 p.m., organizers from SDS began chanting from the courthouse steps.

Fisher stepped forward at the top of the courthouse steps to thank everyone for coming, and read a statement issued by the Students for a Democratic Society's national apparatus.

"National SDS unequivocally condemns the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson [Women's Health Organization]," Fisher read. "This decision overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which established and affirmed the right to an abortion. This decision comes alongside the constant attacks being leveled at women and reproductive rights across the country in the past years."

The statement called the Dobbs decision an "attack" not only against cis women, but also against non-binary people and trans men, closing with a strong declaration of refusal to surrender or return to the past, and calling for people across the country to flood the streets in protest.

Addressing the crowd gathered in the late afternoon heat, Shreya Basu asked the crowd why the abortion-rights movement allowed the anti-abortion crowd to define how the issue is talked about, calling for the destigmatization of abortion through open and honest conversation about the procedure.

"Why have we ceded to the anti-choice movement," Basu said. "Why are we so scared to mention abortion? Why must abortion always be a traumatic procedure? Why do we say 'safe, legal, and rare?' Why do we say 'heartbeat bill' when that's an anti-choice framing that's not even medically accurate? We cannot hedge on this issue because the anti-choice movement certainly isn't and never will."

Kalena Speicher spoke next.

"Today Roe v. Wade was overturned, setting us back 50 years," said Speicher. "Currently 26 states have laws set in place that will ban, or nearly ban, abortion. This ruling does not just affect women and reproductive rights. It sets a precedent and opens the door for other Court rulings to be overturned...We must not back down. Our rights are being stripped from us."

Kalena cited Clarence Thomas's concurring opinion calling for the reconsideration of the cases guaranteeing Americans rights to contraception, same-sex marriages, and same-sex relationships as examples of rights that could be rolled back by the Supreme Court in the future.

Lastly, Chloe Niesz Kutsch reminded the crowd of the historical facts of what the world was like before the Roe decision in 1972.

"In a pre-Roe America getting an abortion could be fatal," Niesz Kutsch said. "If you didn't have the money, the know-how, you could die. Hundreds of thousands died this way; bleeding out, in shock from botched abortions. We can't beat around the bush. Criminalizing abortions kills people." Being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term infringes on the independence of those with-child, she said.

In closing, Niesz Kutsch called on people to continue organizing and fighting back. "As we confront this situation today, let's remember: it's not politicians who give our rights to us, it's we the people who fight for them," she said.

After the conclusion of speeches, the roughly 60 people gathered turned their attention to interacting with passing traffic.

Despite the grim situation, Fisher said that the gathering is a spark of hope.

"Anytime we have an action it is empowering and energizing to see that people care," said Fisher.

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at dkreider@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Protest for abortion rights held in Kent after SCOTUS Roe overturn