INDIANAPOLIS — A crowd of hundreds of anti-abortion advocates marched through the streets of downtown Indianapolis Monday.
Those gathered were celebrating the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a day after the 50th anniversary of the 1973 decision by the United Supreme Court that had protected the right to abortion at the federal level.
In June, the Supreme Court decided it was the individual states that should decide whether abortion should be legal.
“It’s really about supporting the local movement,” said Ben Potts, who came to join the march to the Indiana Statehouse.
This past August, lawmakers in Indiana passed a near-total abortion ban, but the new law was put on hold in September after there were legal challenges to its constitutionality.
Just last week, the Indiana Supreme Court heard arguments about whether abortions should still be allowed to continue, which they currently are, while they consider challenges to the ban. No decision has been made.
“The reversal of Roe was not the end of the battle, it was chapter one of the new phase of the battle,” Mike Fichter with Indiana Right to Life told the crowd.
It’s a battle the anti-abortion advocates who came to march, said they were gearing up for on several fronts.
“Our work as pro-life individuals isn’t just the legislation part, but it’s walking with people in all stages of life,” said Rebecca Paiz.
It’s a battle Indiana’s two Republican senators support. Both spoke to the crowd of anti-abortion advocates on the steps of the Statehouse.
“If we’re going to win this battle in the long run, it’s got to be the youth in this group,” Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana, told the crowd.
“This is a civil rights movement. All of us are committed to pre-birth human rights,” said Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana.
The crowd echoed similar sentiments, saying much more work needed to be done, some of it inside the very building of which they were standing outside.