Abortion rights advocates gather at Ohio Statehouse
COLUMBUS — Deborah O’Brien has been here before.
“I was at the Women’s March in D.C., and now I’m here again,” the 70-yearold said.
O’Brien was one of several hundred protestors who gathered Saturday with flags, signs and coat hangers outside the Ohio Statehouse as part of a national “Ban Off Our Bodies” event, organized by Planned Parenthood and several women’s rights organizations.
The rally came in response to the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft decision indicating that overturning the decision in Roe v. Wade, which has protected abortion rights nationally since 1973, was imminent.
Organizers handed out signs reading “Bans off our bodies” and “Stand with Black women,” while handmade signs in the crowd had more scathing messages.
“I want Mike DeWine to understand, or hopefully Nan Whaley, if she gets elected, but I want the Ohio Legislature to understand that we need access to safe abortion,” said Christina Pusecker, 48, of Cedarville.
Around 1 p.m., crowds blocked West Broad and North High streets, directly outside the Statehouse and chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, abortion bans have got to go.”
Anti-abortion advocates held signs outside the rally as well, with members of the anti-abortion group “Created Equal” holding signs with photos of aborted fetuses.
“I’m just giving out my opinion,” said James Stevens, who sat near the Statehouse. “If you’re mad because you got pregnant, you shouldn’t have had sex. If you’re going to have children, might as well have them live.”
One speaker compared the U.S. to Vatican City and the Philippines, two places where abortion is illegal.
The speaker later led a chant in Filipino: “Maki baka,” meaning “I will persist.”
Kim Thompson, 65, of Marysville, held two signs — one with a bloody coat hanger and another reading “I have no regrets.”