Abortion rights activists rally in Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana – Abortion rights activists in Indiana have been speaking out for the past two days in protest of Indiana’s upcoming abortion ban.

A sizable gathering took place on Monday in Bloomington, which was charged with both anger and hope.

“The choice to do with someone’s body is their own choice and not someone else’s and I don’t believe life begins at conception,” the co-chair of Hoosier Jews for Choice, Amalia Shifriss, said.

Numerous individuals gathered on the yard of the Monroe County courthouse to inform state legislators that the fight for abortion rights is far from over.

“We thought it was important because it affects people all over to have people all over-involved,” Shifriss said.

According to the organizers, it was an opportunity for neighbors to get to know one another before the new abortion law goes into force tomorrow.

“The fact that one of the injunctions has been vacated and (Senate Bill) 1 is going into effect tomorrow, so we are sad and we are grieving, but we’re also energizing and calling people to action,” Shirfriss said.

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled to overturn a decision that had been preventing the state’s almost complete abortion ban in late June.

On the basis of religious liberty, a different injunction that prohibits the prohibition is still in force.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding the new law, according to Stevie Pactor, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Indiana.

“What constitutes a religious belief? How are providers supposed to know whether a person has a religious belief? And our view is that’s a pretty simple process you ask them to fill out an affidavit just like you do with any other religious exemption context,” Pactor said.

Overall, rally attendees pledge to continue fighting despite all obstacles.

Marc Tuttle, president of Right to Life of Indianapolis, has issued a comment regarding the Indiana Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the state’s validity of Senate Enrolled Act 1, which was passed in 2022.

“This is big victory in the fight to protect the life of unborn babies, and to protect pregnant mothers from the often lifelong trauma of abortion. This case is also a victory in that Indiana was the first state to pass prolife legislation since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, making it clear there was never a right to abortion established in the U.S. Constitution. Now the work ahead is to ensure that we, as loving and compassionate Hoosiers, provide the support that pregnant mothers and their babies need to thrive and succeed.” Right to Life of Indianapolis President Marc Tuttle.