Hundreds RSVP’d for a Reproductive Justice rally Saturday in Youngstown, organizers say

The day after the extraordinary leak of a U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the high court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion, Mandy Fehlbaum said she and others who formed the Steel Valley Reproductive Justice Coalition got to work.

The group, comprised of “students, teachers, gig economy workers, professors, doctors, lawyers, retirees, parents, non-parents, and more” organized the Bans Off Our Bodies Rally, set for 1 p.m. Saturday on the steps of the Mahoning County Courthouse, 120 Market St. in downtown Youngstown.

More than 200 people have registered to attend, Fehlbaum told Mahoning Matters.

“We plan to be there rain or shine. We are ready to get heard,” she said.

Planned speakers include faith leaders, health care providers and a woman who will share her own personal account, she said.

“[They will speak on] the legal impact of it, the emotional impact of it, how this decision affects people beyond just women. It can have reverberating consequences for everyone,” Fehlbaum said.

The group organized a similar rally in Youngstown in October, before forming the coalition, she said.

“Obviously, they were not hearing us then. Hopefully, they will hear us now,” Fehlbaum said. “We aren’t under the illusion our actions will make justices swing their vote, but it’s still important to take a stand, especially at this historical time, and say, ‘I stood up for what I believe in.’”

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion laws would be left up to states.

Republican Attorney General Dave Yost last week said his office would seek to revive Ohio’s “heartbeat bill” currently blocked by a federal court, which would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, Cleveland.com reported. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine also told reporters he would sign legislation banning all abortions in the state.

Fehlbaum said the coalition would then turn its efforts toward raising funds or marshaling resources for women seeking abortions, or bolstering reproductive health education — “even returning to the days before Roe, where groups were getting together, trying to provide this information to one another.”