CHICAGO WOMEN SOUND OFF ON COURT’S ROE V. WADE RULING
Jamie Macpherson was in midbattle when she heard her constitutional right to an abortion had been taken away.
Macpherson, a 34-yearold Chicago teacher, was in Humboldt Park attending a course in stage combat, and the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade had her and others wondering what other battles might be ahead.
“I’m just reeling,” Macpherson said. “Even if you know it’s coming, it’s makes you shake. It makes me afraid for what else they can take away.”
Sparring alongside her was Karissa Kosman, who said as a Black queer woman, she has reason to fear what might happen next.
“Losing this makes me nervous,” said Kosman. “Black people are already facing so much, queer people are already facing so much, trans people are facing so much. Am I not going to be able to marry a white woman next?”
The Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization will have no immediate impact on a person’s right to have an abortion in Illinois; a state law already was in place to preserve the right to an abortion should Roe be overturned.
But it had an immediate impact on people’s emotions, regardless. Here’s a sampling of interviews conducted in and around several Chicago parks on Friday.
“As someone who’s queer and in a queer relationship, I’m considering leaving. It’s not safe for us, it’s not safe for us to go out, we can’t get reliable health care. And that might involve leaving until things change and that’s a change I might not live to see,” said Becca Schwartz, 25, who also was in the stage combat group.
Aurea Bonet of Chicago was in Humboldt Park for a family gathering.
“It shouldn’t be legal, there’s already so many ways you can prevent getting pregnant,” said Bonet.
But like many families, this one had a range of opinions.
“The court shouldn’t do that,” said Miriam Cerda, 57. “Everyone should have the right to their own body and to make their own decision.”
Visiting Chicago from Colorado, Rebecca Gutierrez, 46, said, “It’s taking women back 50 years. This is what the Trump thing has come down to, because this is what they wanted. I think gay rights are next. It’s a snowball effect.”