Staff Reports
Bartholomew County residents joined with women around the nation Saturday to demand continued access to abortion in a year when conservative lawmakers and judges have put it in jeopardy.
The local march took place around the Bartholomew County Courthouse, where young and old alike carried signs sending messages to public officials that they should not be legislating what women do with their bodies. One of the signs at the Columbus rally was “Ruth sent me,” a reference to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who was known for speaking out in dissent on a myriad of social issues.
In Indianapolis, chanting could be heard down East Washington Street as hundreds of people gathered in the pouring rain at Lugar Plaza Saturday morning, protesting for women’s reproductive rights.
Nine other Rallies for Reproductive Rights occurred across Indiana and more than 600 nationwide. Hosts of the Indianapolis event included the American Civil Liberties Union, Women’s March Indiana, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates Indiana, NOW Indiana, Indianapolis Indivisible, Indiana Nasty Women, Black Women in Charge and All-Options.
Their inspiration was the recent Texas abortion bill that bans abortion at six weeks, before most women are aware they are pregnant. Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, plans to draft a similar bill for Indiana in the 2022 legislative session.
Sarah Austin said she chose to come to the rally because she wants to see change at the Indiana Statehouse.
“We’re here for women’s reproductive rights,” Austin said. “We want the people at the Statehouse to know we’re pro-choice.”
Katie Blair, director of advocacy and public policy for the ACLU, said Indiana already has the most extreme abortion laws in the country and only plans to get stricter.
“Reproductive health care, including abortion, should be safe and available to those who need it,” Blair said at the rally. “We will fight in the Statehouse, we will fight in the courts, we will march in the streets, we will use all of our power to fight for reproductive rights wherever and whenever they are in jeopardy.”
All the speakers urged protesters to share their stories and go to the polls.
“Each woman has different circumstances when it comes to reproductive health care,” said Karen Celestino-Horseman, a rally organizer in Indianapolis. “That’s why it should not be legislated by a bunch of old men in the Statehouse who know nothing about it.”
In Washington, first Women’s March of the Biden administration headed straight for the steps of the Supreme Court on Saturday.
Demonstrators filled the streets surrounding the court, shouting “My body, my choice” and cheering loudly to the beat of drums.
Before heading out on the march, they rallied in a square near the White House, waving signs that said “Mind your own uterus,” “I love someone who had an abortion” and “Abortion is a personal choice, not a legal debate,” among other messages. Some wore T-shirts reading simply “1973,” a reference to the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which made abortion legal for generations of American women.
The demonstrations took place two days before the start of a new term for the Supreme Court that will decide the future of abortion rights in the United States, after appointments of justices by President Donald Trump strengthened conservative control of the high court.
An opponent of women’s access to abortion called this year’s march theme “macabre.”
“What about equal rights for unborn women?” tweeted Jeanne Mancini, president of an anti-abortion group called March for Life.
