WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Bloomington protesters gathered at the Monroe County Courthouse on Monday to “defend Roe v. Wade” and “demand legal, free, accessible reproductive healthcare for all.”
The demonstration comes after a leak surfaced of an early Supreme Court ruling that has the potential to overturn the landmark case legalizing abortion nationwide.
Ashley Culbertson, a protester and organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, says she felt compelled to protest because of the draft leak and the “inaction” of politicians for failing to solidify reproductive rights.
“I mean, obviously the leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion and also the inaction of the Democratic Party who likes to put themselves as the party that champions women’s rights in this country, but under the current administration, we see that they have the presidency and a majority in the House and Senate, but they were not able to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act due to Joe Manchin and due to just like a lack of consistency within the Democratic Party. We have the right wing in this country that is hell-bent on taking away the rights of women, but there’s supposedly this other major opposition party in our country that does very, very little to stand up for our rights except using them as slogans whenever they are going to campaign,” said Culbertson.
She says if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, it will hurt not only women but other marginalized groups, as well.
“I hope they know what they’re doing and how much it’s going to hurt women and non-binary people and trans men in this country, just anyone with a uterus how harmful it’s really going to be and that this position where they call themselves pro life is absolutely not pro life in any sense that it is just anti abortion. And we know that being pro life leads to more complications during abortions being practiced. We know that this is just not the solution if they actually cared about limiting abortions because we know that banning them does nothing to limit the actual amount of abortions that are performed,” she said.
Culbertson was the opening speaker at the protest. Speaking from a megaphone, she called out the nation’s highest court and policymakers for even considering to overturn abortion policy in the U.S.
“Neither the church nor the state has the right to tell us what to do with our bodies, and we will stand up and we will fight back. We will take to the streets like we are today to show the Supreme Court that what they’re doing is unpopular, and to show the Democrats that not passing the Women’s Health Protection Act is unpopular. Community is truly our last line of defense,” said Culbertson.
13 states in the U.S. have trigger ban laws in place to prohibit abortions if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Indiana is not one of those states.
However, many speculate that Indiana’s Republican supermajority would move quickly to ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturns nearly half a century of legal precedent.
