'No one's decision but mine': Thousands attended abortion rights protest in Cincinnati
Abortions rights supporters of all ages packed into Fountain Square Saturday afternoon, upset that Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to abortion, could be overturned.
Kersha Deibel, CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio, said the crowd of over 4,000 protestors stood in rage and defiance as they faced yet another threat to their reproductive rights.
Throughout the protest, the large crowd often chanted, "we will not go back," as speakers reflected on the years of struggle it took to establish abortion rights.
Cincinnati protestors speak up to protect Roe v. Wade abortion rights
A 72-year-old woman, Carolyn Bellman, told her story of getting an abortion before Roe v. Wade was passed.
In 1970, she was a sophomore in college when she found out she was pregnant by her boyfriend. Immediately, Bellman said, she knew she wanted an abortion but didn't want her friends or family to find out.
It was no one's decision but mine, she said.
Bellman explained that abortion wasn't legal then. She had to have a back-alley procedure.
"I'm sure you've all heard the horror stories about back-alley abortions. Well, I am a survivor of one. I'm not going to talk about the horror of what I suffered through," Bellman said. "I will just leave it to your own vivid imaginations, but it was far worse than you could imagine."
She said people always have and will continue to get abortions. "But what Roe v. Wade did was give a non-horrifying abortion," Bellman said.
Rally-goers share stories at 'Bans Off Our Bodies' rally, with hopes to to remove stigma surrounding abortion
Other speakers stood in front of the crowd and shared their personal stories. Many said while they were nervous about publicly sharing their experiences, they were willing to do so in the hopes of removing the stigma and shame of getting an abortion.
When State Rep. Rachel Roberts (D-Newport) went to the microphone to speak, she said, "the situation in Kentucky is dire."
Roberts said if Roe. v. Wade falls, the only two abortion clinics left in the state will be closed.
She spoke about how two years ago, she stood on the Kentucky house floor and shared her story of being raped at 14-years-old.
"Through my tears, I told my colleagues that I don't think I could have borne the burden of carrying a rapist's baby," Roberts said. " My colleagues didn't care, and 68 of them were willing to put up a no vote this year when I plead with them to at the very least put in place an amendment for victims of rape and incest. But they didn't care."
She said rape victims like herself shouldn't have to tell their stories and relive their trauma to get lawmakers to care about reproductive rights.
Joy Bennett of Mason said she grew up in a very conservative, evangelical family. She remembered being 12-years-old and picketing in front of abortion clinics.
"I had a very naïve and simplistic concept of reproductive justice. My oldest daughter, Ellie, helped me see how limited my understanding of abortion was," Bennett said.
Her daughter was born in 2000 with five congenital heart defects. Before her fourth birthday, she needed four open-heart surgeries and suffered a brain injury that left her with cerebral palsy.
Bennett said her daughter never walked or talked and died at 8-years-old in 2008.
"I once counted out her medical bills. Those alone cost almost $1 million. I had to quit my job to care for her. I don't know what I would have done if I was a single mom," Bennett said.
She also spoke about the many sleepless nights and the emotional toll providing constant care for Ellie took.
When Bennett got pregnant again, the doctor told her the baby had heart defects similar to Ellie's.
She and her husband had to choose between putting the baby through painful surgery in the hopes of a 20% chance of survival or saving the baby that suffering knowing there wouldn't be any chance of survival.
"Life can be tragic and horrifying. Sometimes you have to choose between equally awful options," Bennet said. "I don't know if everyone can say, 'yes, I will continue this pregnancy, deliver this child into a life of pain, raise them and then watch them die.' I barely managed with Ellie."
Bennett said in that moment of grief and fear, as she and her husband had to make a decision, the last thing her family needed would be lawmakers taking away their right to choose.
Deibel said she is proud of everyone that showed up at Fountain Square on Saturday to fight for these fundamental rights.
"Planned Parenthood needs to remain open as the only abortion provider in Cincinnati and one of two in Southwest Ohio," she said.
Deibel said people from other states, including Kentucky, West Virginia, and even Texas, visit the clinic in Cincinnati to get abortion care. She said driving across state lines to receive abortion care will be the reality for local individuals if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
"I'm outraged, fearful, tired, and yet I'm also defiant, and I bring with me the power of the people that are here with me. And we'll fight to make sure our constitutional freedoms remain, and abortion continues to be legal in Ohio," she said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Thousands attend 'Bans Off Our Bodies' pro-choice Cincinnati rally
