'Time to get in people's faces': Hundreds rally to support abortion rights in Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A few hundred people from across the Tri-State gathered in front of the Four Freedoms Monument on Sunday afternoon to rally against the possible overturn of Roe v. Wade.

A draft opinion leaked out of the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month possibly signaled the court’s intention to repeal the nearly 50-year-old decision and give states the power to outlaw abortion.

Attendees toted signs saying, “Protect Roe v. Wade” and “Keep your laws off my body” as they applauded those who took turns addressing the crowd with a megaphone.

“What happens in a doctor’s office in an exam room is none of my business,” said Democrat Ray McCormick, who will run against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon to represent Indiana’s 8th Congressional district in November.

Katherine Rybak, a Democratic candidate running for Indiana State House District 76, also spoke. She said she’s afraid of what will happen if Roe is overturned.

“There are so many reasons (why someone might need an abortion). …You can’t exception your way out of this. You just have to trust women to make their own decisions,” she said.

For subscribers:If Roe v. Wade is overturned, how would it affect abortion access in Evansville?

Along with abortion rights, speakers addressed the importance of voting.

“People rally but they don’t necessarily make the connection between who their leaders are and getting politically active," said Edie Hardcastle, community organizer for the Vanderburgh County Democratic Party. "And so that’s what I was here to communicate."

The event, organized by recent USI graduate Elizabeth Bowers, was promoted on Facebook, where it garnered over 1,000 responses.

“It’s time to get in some people’s faces, it’s time to make our voices heard,” Bowers said.

Among the activists and politicians were mothers, daughters and many others who came simply because they believe in abortion rights.

One woman, a 96-year-old named Eileen, shared her story of her mother’s best friend who died in 1929 due to lack of female reproductive healthcare.

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Two other women in attendance, Jordan Terrell and Ariel Cunningham, said they didn’t plan on speaking at Sunday’s event, but felt inspired after hearing the stories of others.

“This fight isn’t about me. It’s about my daughter. She’s only six months old and she’s…half Native American. Before Roe v. Wade, it was really common for people of color to…receive more than subpar healthcare," Cunningham said. "And I’m really scared of that for her."

Terrell said she’s concerned about the lack of women in power. As a working mother of one, she also worries she wouldn’t be able to afford another child.

“I don’t have the money to support several children like a lot of people that are affluent,” she said.

After speaking, rallygoers made their way to the sidewalk along Riverside Drive where they held their signs and chanted phrases at passing cars like, “They say no choice, we say pro-choice."

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 7,710 abortions were provided in Indiana in 2017. Abortion is legal here until the 14th week of pregnancy and can only be performed at 20 or more weeks post-fertilization in cases of severely compromised physical health.

Without Roe vs. Wade, at least 26 states, including Indiana and Kentucky, are likely to ban abortions.

Contact Lauren Craddock at lauren.craddock@courierpress.com or on Twitter @LaurenECraddock