Missoulians gather to advocate for reproductive rights, freedom
Abortion has been here for forever and will be here for forever,” Toni Chew said as she walked alongside other marchers for reproductive rights in downtown Missoula on Sunday.
Chew was one of about 100 people that walked in the Bigger Than Roe march in Missoula on Sunday. Marchers started their rally in front of the Missoula County Courthouse, before heading down Broadway and Higgins, then wrapping back around to the courthouse. Along the route, they chanted “My Body, My Choice” and “This is what Democracy Looks Like.”
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June, triggering a wave of protests against government encroachment on reproductive and sexual freedoms. While abortion is still protected Montana, its future in Big Sky is uncertain.
Chew is a lifelong Montanan. She had an out-of-state abortion when she was 22 years old, before the Roe decision made it legal in Montana. Since then, she’s marched in several Women’s Marches across the country, including the first one in Washington D.C. in 2017.
“Today we march on the 50th anniversary of Roe versus Wade,” Missoula’s march organizer Erin Heaton said on Sunday outside of the courthouse. “To prove to every legislator, corporation and bigot that our movement is bigger than Roe.”
As people across the country protest the court ruling, Heaton encouraged politicians to keep government regulations away from women's bodies, to reverse abortion bans and expand access to reproductive and sexual healthcare.