Crowd in Huntington protests overturning of Roe v. Wade

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - A crowd gathered Friday night in front of the Cabell County Courthouse to speak out against the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Those who attended lit candles, held signs, and cheered when they got honks from drivers on 5th Avenue.

The event in Huntington was organized by the Women’s March West Virginia group.

“It’s a really scary day to be a woman, especially a 25-year-old woman,” Jessica Kimble said. “I have a lot of years left to have reproductive organs that are active, and it’s a really scary day for me. I’m very upset.”

“I personally do not believe life begins at conception, I think it’s a lot more complicated than that,” said Dr. Hilary Brewster, the director of women and gender studies at Marshall University.

With states now getting the power to come up with their own abortion laws, those at the protest say they’ll be making it clear to West Virginia lawmakers where they stand.

“I’m hoping our governor and our House and Senate will take the time to listen to our voices and really see there are people in this state who are against this ban on abortion and that we take it seriously, and we take women’s rights seriously as a medical issue,” Kimble said.

“It really punishes women who can’t afford to travel or take off time from work in order to travel to a state where it will remain legal,” Brewster said. “It’s really just an absolute atrocity when it comes to bodily autonomy. Only the person and their medical provider should be able to make that decision for themselves and or their family.”

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