Abortion rights activists shout 'you don't care if women die' at rally outside Statehouse
When the Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to an abortion by overturning Roe v. Wade, 27-year-old Tilden Hindle thought of the other trans men who weren’t as fortunate as he was to receive a hysterectomy, the procedure to remove the uterus, before the ruling.
The Terre Haute resident said he believes the Supreme Court has given people a death sentence. He said he would kill himself if he couldn't get an abortion and thinks other trans men would have similar thoughts.
“There will be a lot of poor women who die, a lot of trans guys who die, people all over the spectrum,” Hindle said. “Because I know if I had gotten pregnant, I probably wouldn’t have been able to handle the (gender) dysphoria, and, were I not able to have an abortion, I would have killed myself.”
Hindle, along with three friends, came out to the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday to join a crowd of other abortion-rights activists. The Indiana General Assembly had originally scheduled a special session for July 6 to discuss taxpayer refunds and abortion, but the session was moved to July 25 to allow for more time in the session.
The legislature likely will further restrict if not outright ban abortion access in the state.
A protest rally planned for the special session was moved to July 25, but dozens of abortions rights activists gathered Wednesday anyway to share their thoughts in an effort to let lawmakers know how they feel.
More by IndyStar: Indiana Democrats accuse GOP of holding economic relief hostage for abortion debate
Chants of “Pro life is a lie, you don’t care if women die,” “Hey, hey, mister, mister, get your laws off my sister” and “Silence is violence” could be heard in unison throughout the crowd.
Other chants included call and response, with one person shouting “My body,” and others responding, “Our choice.”
Sara Baird, 30, of Fishers said this cause is one that hits home.
“My husband and I have to put our family trying on hold because I have a lot of infertility issues,” Baird said. “Our next step just puts me at too high a risk for an ectopic pregnancy, and now I have to worry if my doctor is going to hesitate to save my life.”
An ectopic pregnancy is one in which the fetus grows outside the uterus, with the chance to survive several weeks but eventually dies. It puts the mother's health and ultimately her life at risk.
Baird said she got to the protest at 10 a.m. and would leave when “my legs give out.”
As she spoke, some cars and trucks passing on the street honked in support of the abortion-rights protestors standing outside in the sweltering heat. Other people in cars drove by and put up their middle fingers.
Protestors around Baird held signs that read, “Just because I bleed doesn’t mean that I breed,” “A child??? In this economy?” and “We will not go back” framed by a coat hanger.
More by IndyStar: Indiana abortions by the numbers: How many people have procedure here
More by IndyStar: Abortion is still legal in Indiana — for now. Here's what is and isn't allowed.
Kierra Knight, 22, of Indianapolis, said Indiana lawmakers don’t understand what abortion means to women.
“I would recommend they just get educated because I feel like they are blinded by their personal beliefs and morals,” Knight said. “And that is not how you run states or your government or anything.”
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has said the state now has “an opportunity to make progress in protecting the sanctity of life, and that’s exactly what we will do.”
Many other Republican leaders in the state have shared similar sentiments.
More by IndyStar: Restricting abortion may mean more children in poverty. Indiana already lags on funding.
More by IndyStar: 'Abortion is health care': What Supreme Court reversal means for doctors, nurses, patients
Valerie Smith, 37, drove an hour from northern Indiana with one of her two teenage children to be at the protest — her fifth since the Supreme Court’s decision — to “fight for my rights and my kids’ rights and everyone who has a uterus who just got (their rights) taken away.”
She has one nonbinary child and one trans child, both of whom she says will be affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“Inevitably, (the loss of) women’s rights will trickle down to my kids not having the rights to be who they want to be,” Smith said, as she held a sign that read: “Don’t like abortions, ignore it like you ignore the children in foster care.”
Smith was not the only one at the protest thinking of her children.
Heather Lamm of Bloomington brought her nearly 11-year-old daughter Kya to their first protest ever to teach her daughter to “make her voice heard when it needs to be.”
Although Lamm doesn’t agree with all abortions, she believes there are times when it is necessary.
“And whether I agree with it or not on all levels, it should be her choice, not a man in a suit who doesn’t know much about a woman’s body,” Lamm said.
Her daughter chimed in to suggest that her mother tell IndyStar to “give the speech you give every single day.”
Lamm acquiesced: “It is our body, and it is our choice. I feel like lawmakers think women are stupid, and we can’t make our own decisions, and abortion is not a decision that any woman in any situation makes lightly.”
She said she plans to keep protesting until something changes.
Contact IndyStar reporter Lizzie Kane at ekane@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @lizzie_kane17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana abortion-rights activists gather outside Statehouse in protest
