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After a leaked draft opinion in May showed the U.S. Supreme Court was planning to overturn Roe v. Wade, Anna Wagner went out and bought a black “Dissent” flag to display outside her house.
“I don’t want my neighbors to be confused,” she said.
On Friday afternoon, she and Alex Franker, both of Des Moines, carried that flag during a march to protest the court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The court overruled Roe, explicitly rejecting the half-century-old holding that the U.S. Constitution protects the right to an abortion.
The decision came a week after an Iowa Supreme Court significantly pared back protections for abortion under the Iowa Constitution. The march in response was organized by Iowa Abortion Access Fund, Des Moines Black Liberation Society, and other activist groups.
What to know:How are Iowa abortion laws affected by the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade?
Other marches were held around the state, and around the country, and more are planned in the coming days.
After one Friday march in Cedar Rapids, two people were struck by a car during a protest, although no serious injuries were immediately reported, police said.
“The Cedar Rapids Police Department is conducting a thorough investigation into tonight’s incident. We all have a right to our opinions, but we must act in a peaceful and respectful manner,” said Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell in a statement.
In Des Moines, the crowd, which appeared to be more than a thousand strong, gathered at Central Academy. From there they marched up Grand Avenue to Terrace Hill, the official governor’s mansion, with chants, signs and speakers, including many slogans directed against Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.
More:With Roe v. Wade overturned, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds vows to protect ‘every unborn Iowan’
Attendees said they were angry and fearful not just for the decision, and the restrictions on abortion they expect to follow, but for the threat the ruling poses to other rights such as same-sex and interracial marriage. Josie Mulvihill, one of the speakers, said some states have acted to criminalize women going to other states for abortions, which she compared to the pre-Civil War Fugitive Slave Act.
Although much of the anger was directed toward conservative groups and politicians, some speakers had harsh words for erstwhile allies.
Activist Frieda Bequeaith accused the Democratic Party of treating the end of Roe as a fundraising opportunity, and criticized Planned Parenthood for moving faster than necessary to implement a state law requiring a 24-hour wait for abortions after the state Supreme Court upheld that law last week.
“The good news is that we have always been on our own. That we are all we have ever had, and we are enough,” Bequeaith said. “So even though today, I am heartbroken, and I am afraid of what the future will look like for so many of us, I still have hope.”
More:‘Our doors remain open’ in Iowa, Planned Parenthood says after Supreme Court abortion decision
Despite having weeks of forewarning, Wagner said her response upon hearing news of the decision Friday morning was “absolute despair.”
“We were all at work, so you can’t say anything,” she said. “We just looked at each other silently.”
Franker, beside her, said it can’t be all on women to defend abortion rights.
“Male-presenting humans, especially white male-presenting humans, need to be out here fighting the fight, even if it doesn’t affect them,” she said. “This affects everybody.”
Although Wednesday’s crowd skewed female, there were plenty of men as well. Ryan Maher of Des Moines marched carrying an upside-down American flag to signal distress.
“I’m a male. I don’t have reproductive rights that are under attack right now,” he said. “But going forward, we need to keep the pressure on lawmakers, on the courts, on the governor, on the Senate, the House. Literally everybody in elected office. This can’t stand.”
Otherwise, he said, there are other rights that could be at risk.
“I’ve got a fear that this is only the beginning,” he said. “This is the first time Supreme Court overturned a decision that resulted in the stripping of rights under the constitution. So what’s gonna be next?”
Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com or at 410-340-3440. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.
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