Posted on May 16, 2022
Kansas Citians share their own abortion stories at ‘Bans Off Our Bodies’ protest
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Hundreds of people attended a rally Saturday as part of a nationwide day of protest against the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade.
More than 300 people rallied at Kansas City’s Mill Creek Park and marched around the Plaza on Saturday, joining cities nationwide to protest in support of abortion rights.
The “Bans Off Our Bodies” rallies were organized by Planned Parenthood in response to a leaked opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court that would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Organizers told the crowd that the reproductive rights movement is not just about women.
“There are plenty of non-binary, trans-masculine, gender expansive, gender liberated people who are absolutely affected by decisions like these, and more than often left out of equitable health care options, leaving us to do a number of things that may or may not be safe for us or our families,” said Imije Ninaz with the Nafasi Center for QTPOC, one of the groups that organized the rally.
More than 300 people rallied at Kansas City’s Mill Creek Park and marched around the Plaza on Saturday, joining cities nationwide to protest in support of abortion rights.
The “Bans Off Our Bodies” rallies were organized by Planned Parenthood in response to a leaked opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court that would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Organizers told the crowd that the reproductive rights movement is not just about women.
“There are plenty of non-binary, trans-masculine, gender expansive, gender liberated people who are absolutely affected by decisions like these, and more than often left out of equitable health care options, leaving us to do a number of things that may or may not be safe for us or our families,” said Imije Ninaz with the Nafasi Center for QTPOC, one of the groups that organized the rally.
Kansas Citians share their own abortion stories at ‘Bans Off Our Bodies’ protest
Posted from kcur.org
Abortion
Supreme Court
Protest
Kansas City
LGBTQ+
Posted 2 y ago
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Roe can be re-done just as it can be un-done. Time to expand the court and then codify roe into law.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The stakes in Kansas feel personal for Kelsey Walker, who couldn’t attend Saturday’s rally but has shown up at several other pro-choice protests in the city.
Walker said she has always been a pro-choice advocate, but in 2017, while living in Kansas, she discovered her baby had osteogenesis imperfecta type II, an often fatal disorder commonly known as brittle bone disease. All of the bones in her daughter’s body were broken.
“And what was more is that if one of her bones would've broken and perforated me, like I could have bled to death,” Walker said. “So unfortunately, her condition was also threatening my life, so my husband and I made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy at 18 weeks.”
Even if Walker’s baby were born safely, she likely would have died shortly after birth. Walker said that getting an abortion wasn’t easy, and she felt shamed for doing so.
“Unfortunately, because of the state regulation, they actually try to talk you out of having the abortion while you're there,” said Walker. “It's not that they're callous or anything, because lord knows those care providers were so compassionate and so caring to me, but they asked me six times during the procedure time if I wanted to have the abortion.”
At Saturday’s rally, many expressed fear for the future of reproductive rights in the nation. Hannah, who is 14, said she’s been really stressed by the potential of abortion bans.
Hannah said she grew up being sexually abused in her home. Although the abuse stopped last year, her abuser did not go to jail.
“If I started my period any earlier than 13 years old, which thankfully I started at 14, very recently, I could have gotten pregnant and I possibly couldn't have had an option to get an abortion,” Hannah said. “I would've had to have a rapist baby.”
Missouri’s 2019 abortion ban does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
“I want other little girls like me to be safe in their homes. Like, because I wasn't, I want others to be,” Hannah said. “It's so traumatic just to be alive afterwards. It just sucks. I don't want anyone to go through it.”
..."The stakes in Kansas feel personal for Kelsey Walker, who couldn’t attend Saturday’s rally but has shown up at several other pro-choice protests in the city.
Walker said she has always been a pro-choice advocate, but in 2017, while living in Kansas, she discovered her baby had osteogenesis imperfecta type II, an often fatal disorder commonly known as brittle bone disease. All of the bones in her daughter’s body were broken.
“And what was more is that if one of her bones would've broken and perforated me, like I could have bled to death,” Walker said. “So unfortunately, her condition was also threatening my life, so my husband and I made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy at 18 weeks.”
Even if Walker’s baby were born safely, she likely would have died shortly after birth. Walker said that getting an abortion wasn’t easy, and she felt shamed for doing so.
“Unfortunately, because of the state regulation, they actually try to talk you out of having the abortion while you're there,” said Walker. “It's not that they're callous or anything, because lord knows those care providers were so compassionate and so caring to me, but they asked me six times during the procedure time if I wanted to have the abortion.”
At Saturday’s rally, many expressed fear for the future of reproductive rights in the nation. Hannah, who is 14, said she’s been really stressed by the potential of abortion bans.
Hannah said she grew up being sexually abused in her home. Although the abuse stopped last year, her abuser did not go to jail.
“If I started my period any earlier than 13 years old, which thankfully I started at 14, very recently, I could have gotten pregnant and I possibly couldn't have had an option to get an abortion,” Hannah said. “I would've had to have a rapist baby.”
Missouri’s 2019 abortion ban does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
“I want other little girls like me to be safe in their homes. Like, because I wasn't, I want others to be,” Hannah said. “It's so traumatic just to be alive afterwards. It just sucks. I don't want anyone to go through it.”
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