By CAMILA FERNANDEZ
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Thousands of protestors in downtown Indianapolis on Monday participated in the second Indiana March for Life since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Organizers sent a loud message as they marched through downtown. They want the country to know that Indiana is a symbol of hope for moms and their babies.
“Especially as young people, I think we can show the support for the community that they really need,” Nora Alcala said.
The seventh annual Indiana March for Life started near the Pan Am Tower on Capitol Avenue where thousands of protestors got together to remember the lives cut short due to abortion.
“This is a memorial day. This is a day to remember the 65 million-plus lives that have been lost for abortion, and all of the women who have regretted their abortion and who’ve suffered because of abortion that we’ve had over 50 years in our nation,” said Marc Tuttle, president of Right to Life of Indianapolis.
They say that while Indiana has a near-total abortion ban, work remains to be done.
Maria Thomas said, “People think they know what the pro-life movement stands for, what it does, and they really don’t. So, I’ve been very glad to work with … there’s an account called Pro-Life Indy, which is on TikTok and Instagram that works to combat that misinformation.”
Thousands of protesters walked a little over a mile with a message to the community. They reached Monument Circle and finished at the Statehouse, where state and community leaders met with them for a second rally.
Tuttle says the number of pregnant women seeking help is going up.
“We’ve had an increase in the number of women who’ve sought help at our pregnancy resource centers, who look for community help, who’ve looked for state services, and so we still have work to do, but we’re meeting the need,” he said.
Abortion-rights supporters say they’re fighting against misinformation. They want women to know they can still choose abortion elsewhere.
Jessica Marchbank, director of state programs at All-Options, said, “We are concerned that people don’t know that they can still access an abortion, or how maybe there’s uncertainty about ‘will I get in trouble if I ask or will I get in trouble if I go to Illinois?’” And we really want to debunk all of that.”