Hundreds rally for women’s reproductive rights at Allen County Courthouse

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Many people are rallying for women’s reproductive rights across the country and in Fort Wayne.

“It’s just so heartwarming and empowering and powerful to see this many people wanting to take action, year after year, month after month for these important human rights,” Regional Field Organizer Jessica Bunch said.

Reproductive Health Advocates in Indiana and Kentucky are rallying in support of abortion access as part of the nationwide “Bans Off Our Bodies Day of Action.”

Bunch says it’s important to see the amount of people who came out supporting the cause, like Brittany Carney. ABC21 talked with her last week at the courthouse for a different rally but with a similar message. She says she’ll attend every rally moving forward until a change is made.

“If we’re giving them this inch then they’re going to take a mile and come more for women’s rights, gay rights, they are going to come for the rights for people of color and it’s so much more than that. We’re out here to make sure they can’t do that because no one should be able to tell us what we should and shouldn’t do,” Carney said.

On the other side of the issue, Claire Meyer, she’s the director of an organization called Advocates for Justice and they’re hoping for the reversal of Roe V. Wade goes through. She says her mission is to tell the truth and have important dialog with the other side.

“That’s why we’re here to speak the truth of abortion. We have graphic abortion images and signs and showing the reality for what abortion does as it happens 2,300 times a day so that’s why we’re here,” Meyer said.

Planned Parenthood Alliance advocates say the national day of action is meant to send a message to politicians who want to control women’s bodies and their lives. That’s why they’re calling it, Bans Off Our Bodies.

“This is such an important constitutional right that we’re not going to stop fighting, this is not like a flash in the pan and it’ll be over tomorrow, this is an ongoing issue,” Bunch said.

There were also several tents set up at the rally to provide resources for people in the Fort Wayne community.

If Roe V. Wade does get overturned, both sides of the aisle are fighting.

“It just shows that our message is getting out there and it’s reaching more people that have the same objective and that’s to make sure that my rights stay in place and no one can take those,” Carney said.

“I don’t think that’s the end of the battle, I think at that point we have to go state to state and make abortion illegal, abolish abortion… we can not continue to let this injustice happen as long as it’s legal,” Meyer said.

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