‘The damage that has been done today’: Roe v. Wade reversal draws protest in Youngstown

Valley residents rallied in downtown Youngstown against Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending Americans’ nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion.

Steel Valley Reproductive Justice Coalition, a group consisting of students, teachers, professors, doctors, lawyers, retirees, parents, non-parents and others, organized the rally at the corner of Federal and Market streets.

Protesters bore signs, some reading “My body is not yours to control” and “I am a reproductive freedom voter.”

Erica Putro, a teacher from Warren, said the decision didn’t come as a surprise — a draft of the opinion was leaked to the media in May. But she said it’s important for everyone to know how pro-choice advocates feel.

Putro said she thinks reproductive rights supporters should stay consistently engaged with the issue and peacefully protest.

“Abortions have always happened, and they will continue to happen,” she said.

Dr. Alexis Smith of Poland, a physician working in Youngstown, said Roe’s reversal implies there will no longer be access to safe abortion in Ohio and that women will either travel to other states for abortion — which will be prohibitively expensive and more dangerous — or carry an unwanted pregnancy to term.

She said the decision’s consequences are catastrophic. Most people who have abortions are not ready to have children, she said.

“It will create immense burdens for people who are unable to become parents and are not ready to become parents,” she said.

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th, said Friday’s ruling will end up affecting poor women the most.

“We have lost our fundamental constitutional right. I am so angry that a far-right minority has pushed their radical agenda at the expense of our daughters’ lives. Women will die, because this decision will not stop abortion — it will only stop safe abortion,” she said.

Lepore-Hagan and other Statehouse Democrats in May introduced a House resolution to amend the state constitution and preserve women’s reproductive rights in the state.

“We expect the leaders of the House and Senate to bury the legislation, just as they have buried the right to choose. But we are committed to taking the proposal directly to the people so they can overturn the damage that has been done today,” Lepore-Hagan said.

Constitutional amendments from state legislators need a three-fifths majority vote to pass. They are then put on a ballot for voters to decide. The amendment has yet to be assigned to a House committee or receive any hearings.

Daphne Carr, a student music organizer from Youngstown, said she thinks Friday’s decision is not about saving babies — rather, about controlling people.

Werner Lange, a local activist and former political candidate, said he thinks America is currently controlled by a fascist movement.

“The power of Donald Trump has been demonstrated today,” he said. “[A] majority of Americans supported the right to safe abortion, but this corrupt court took it away.

“This cannot be tolerated. We cannot allow it to occur without protest. The American people must unite and smash fascism as a whole,” Lange said.

This story was originally published June 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.