In response to restrictive abortion legislation passed by Missouri lawmakers last week, protestors gathered at Capaha Park’s Freedom Corner in Cape Girardeau Monday evening. The rally, entitled “Preserve Our Freedom,” was a show of support for access to “reproductive health rights, including safe, legal abortion,” according to regional grassroots organizer for Planned Parenthood, Aaron Lerma.
Several demonstrators were dressed in clothing - a red outfit and a white cap - similar to that of characters in the popular dystopian book and Hulu series, The Handmaid’s Tale. Many protest signs read, “Girls just wanna have FUNdamental human rights,” “My vagina, my voice,” and “Hovis and Swan, we want you gone.”
One protestor, Iris Anderson, explained that in The Handmaid’s Tale, the rights of women were taken away and their only basic function was to procreate.
“That’s why we chose to dress up like that: to represent what was happening in the Supreme Court,” said Anderson. “And the government right now is so indicative of what’s happening in that Hulu show.”
Lerma said they had an estimated 85 people in attendance between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. In an email, he said that number “doesn’t include people who happened to stay for a while when passing by.” They’ve had this level of participation with past rallies, but Lerma said they saw a “whole lot of new faces” yesterday.
“It is my personal, strongly held belief that there are leftists and progressives scattered all through the southeast Missouri and Bootheel region,” said Lerma. “Conservatives of our area feel emboldened here because we are rural, but we are not all red.”
The rally was also organized by community member, Lea Happe. She said a lot of demonstrators were actually pro-life, but they “need a compromise.”
“We need balance, and that was hard-fought with blood, sweat, tears, and lives in the 60’s and 70’s to get Roe v. Wade. And people seem to have forgotten why we have Roe v. Wade,” said Happe. “We have democracy. We don’t have church telling state what to do.”
Happe said that the house bill, Missouri Stands For the Unborn Act, was “just a ruse to get a case in front of the Supreme Court” to kick out the 1973 decision. She said many politicians seem to be returning back to an era where “women were treated very differently.”
“They just don’t remember how cruel and inhumane that was, and that’s why I stood up for this issue,” said Happe. ”That’s why I’ll keep standing up for issues because that’s who we are. Some of us are braver than others. I hope I inspired a lot of people today. I inspired myself, if nobody else.”
Lerma said although this legislative session is closed, he believes more people in southeast Missouri will organize within their communities “as well as at the ballot box.”
“These attacks on safe, legal abortion will not go unanswered, and I believe that southeast Missouri is ready to hold these reps accountable,” said Lerma.