Protestors gather in La Porte after overturning of Roe v. Wade
LA PORTE, Ind. --- Dozens of protestors in La Porte gathered outside of the courthouse on Sunday afternoon to voice their opinions on the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court. They are especially vocal because they say the issue is not talked about enough in La Porte.
“Living in La Porte, I love the town and I want to raise my family here so we want to be comfortable living here too," says Alex Masepohl, a protestor.
“Nobody really talks about these issues in La Porte," says the organizer of the protest, Brianna Holzer. "I figured it’s kind of time to really start a conversation because it’s really late, and we don’t deserve this anymore. It’s time for us to be able to tell everybody what we think.”
What they think is that the overturning of Roe v. Wade is harmful to women and children that will grow up in a state where abortion is banned.
“We just want basic health care for our daughters," says another protestor who brought her children with her, Cecily Lenson. "Thinking ten years from now, when they are teenagers and might have to go through the world and what it throws at them, we want them to be able to have heath care that they deserve and all women need.”
For Holzer, the passion for women's rights comes from personal experience.
“I personally was raped a year ago, and I’ve been on journey to start rape prices here in La Porte and it’s been really difficult," Holzer says. "I didn’t realize how privileged I was when I was offered a Plan B pill at the hospital for my rape kit, and to think that women or me in the future if that would ever happen could not have that Plan B pill and go through with the pregnancy, it’s more than just abortion.”
With Holzer having connections in Indianapolis, she hopes their voices will be echoed by protestors from around the state, before a decision is made by Governor Holcomb in July.
“I’ve been working with Indiana Coalition to end Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking for about a year now, and they help me a lot with my crisis center," Holzer says. "So I think since they’re based kind of around that area, that they’d be able to help me get something going around the state house that maybe hasn’t started yet because they need to know what we want before they make that decision.”
“We’re just out here continuing to do the work for equal rights for all of us that live here in La Porte," Masepohl adds.
Governor Holcomb announced on Friday that the Indiana General Assembly will be meeting on July 6th to discuss how the state will go forward after the Supreme Court's ruling.