Abortion-rights protesters held a rally at the Boone County Courthouse on Tuesday. The protest came the day after Politico published a leaked draft of a Supreme Court majority opinion suggesting it may overturn Roe v. Wade.
TW: This article contains mentions of abortion and sexual assault.
A large crowd of abortion-rights protesters gathered at the Boone County Courthouse on Tuesday at 5 p.m. to participate in a rally supporting Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.
Tuesday’s rally was one of the many “Bans Off Our Bodies” protests organized across the country. These protests were sparked by a leaked draft of a Supreme Court majority opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which would overturn Roe. Politico was the first to publish the leak in an exclusive report on Monday evening.
The circulation of this draft does not change any federal laws right now. However, the possibility of Roe’s removal sparked anger and fear for many at the Boone County Courthouse protest, including Rock Bridge High School student Katherine Cox-Littrell.
“Last night … I started crying. I was terrified. I texted my mom, and I had no clue what to do … I knew that I had to come [protest] because nobody should be forced to go through with a pregnancy they don’t want to have,” Cox-Littrell said.
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When Cox-Littrell spoke in front of the crowd of protesters, she said she was sexually assaulted when she was 14.
“After [it happened], I was terrified that I was going to [be] a mother before I entered high school,” Cox-Littrell said. “… The fact that the Supreme Court would rather see [minors] having… children, rather than women having the right to their own bodies, is frankly one of the most disgusting things we see in our country today.”
After around the first half-hour of speeches and chants, the protest evolved into a march.
The protesters marched to Elm Street and then looped back to the courthouse. Using megaphones, the crowd chanted “Ho-ho, hey-hey, Roe v. Wade has got to stay” and “My body, my choice,” which echoed across a parking garage along their route. Some cars honked their horns in support, and the protesters responded in a roar of cheers.
MU senior Shayna Crosby spoke on how the abortion-rights movement spans multiple generations.
“My grandmother came to these events to fight for the right to her body,” Crosby said “My mother came to these events to fight for the right to her body. Now I have to come to these events to fight for the right to my body, and when I decide to have my daughter, she will not have to come to these protests anymore.”
Several candidates running for local and state office positions were in attendance alongside the protesters. Chimene Schwach, a longtime abortion-rights organizer and candidate running for the 47th district seat in the Missouri House of Representatives, said eliminating abortion rights would set a dangerous precedent for other civil rights protections, such as marriage for same-sex couples.
“It is all intersectional,” Schwach said. “Our civil rights are human rights, and when they come for one of us, they’re going to come for all of us.”
Schwach called for codifying Roe on the federal level — a sentiment echoed on some of the protest signs. Later, another protester called for the expansion of the Supreme Court during an impromptu speech, which drew applause from the crowd.
Many speakers urged the attendees to register to vote, contact their legislators and support abortion-rights candidates running for office.
“You don’t have to be out front and center,” Schwach said. “You can go to the ballot box and make your voice heard.”
Chimene Schwach, candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives
“Rallies are great because [they make] people feel good, but you don’t have to be at a rally — what you really need to do is register to vote, and you need to vote for pro-choice candidates,” Schwach said.
After dozens of speeches, chants, personal stories and calls to action, the protesters dispersed at around 7 p.m.
Edited by Piper Molins | pmolins@themaneater.com and Zoe Homan | zhoman@themaneater.com
