Women’s rights advocates march in KC and encourage voter turnout ahead of election
After she finished her overnight shift at the Kansas City Ford Assembly Plant, Natisha Johnson, 45, put on her yellow vest and headed to the River Market Saturday morning.
Running on an hour of sleep, Johnson and several other members of the United Auto Workers Local 249 union joined forces with hundreds of people in a march advocating for women’s rights ahead of the 2024 General Election.
“I made sure I woke up for this, this morning, because it’s important that we highlight the important factors of the election,” Johnson said.
Voters will decide Tuesday whether to overturn Missouri’s near-total ban on abortion or keep the laws currently in place.
Missouri has effectively banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy, “except in cases of medical emergency.” The state legislature had passed a “trigger law” and implemented the ban minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Missouri is one of 10 states voting on abortion rights in November. About half of those could overturn current bans or restrictions, including Missouri, South Dakota, Florida, Nebraska and Arizona.
Among other topics of discussion at the march Saturday, various speakers and advocates focused their efforts on promoting a “yes” vote for Amendment 3.
A “yes” vote would restrict the state from prohibiting abortion access or limiting state funding to organizations because they provide abortion or contraceptives. These rights and changes would be enshrined in the state constitution and would be more difficult to overturn through legislation than the state’s previous restrictive abortion rights were.
A “no” vote on Amendment 3 would support Missouri’s abortion rights and laws remaining the same, keeping the current ban on abortion in place. People needing abortions could still legally go to another state, like Illinois or Kansas, to access the procedure.
Johnson, who is on the women’s committee of Local 249, said she gets frustrated when politicians distract voters from the issues that are important to most people. By participating in Saturday’s march ahead of the vote, and other advocacy efforts, she can highlight what she fears is actually happening — women’s rights being taken away.
“It’s important that we all, not just women, but everybody, get out and make sure our voices are heard,” Johnson said. “And make sure to get out and vote.
Hundreds of abortion rights advocates march in KC
Event organizers shared personal stories Saturday morning of how limited reproductive healthcare access has impacted Missourians’ lives.
A crowd of a few hundred carried picket signs and chanted rhymes as they walked from the middle of Kansas City’s River Market neighborhood, and then up and down streets across northern Kansas City.
Barbara Lanning, 71, and her lifetime best friend Stephanie Myers, 71, both made the drive from Lawson, Missouri to take part in the march.
“We were teenagers before Roe v. Wade, and we saw what happened with women who could not get safe abortions,” Lanning said.
Myers said she has worked to encourage and inform younger women in her family about Roe v. Wade and state laws that have come out of it being overturned.
“I have a granddaughter and great granddaughters that I’m marching for,” Myers said. “To try to not lose any more rights.”
Lanning and Myers both said women’s rights and voting for candidates who would support Amendment 3 are the most important issues to them in next week’s election.
“In the wake of everything that has happened when it comes to reproductive freedom, this election is very important,” said Seania Crowley, 30, an organizer with the march. “Amendment 3 is this ray of hope that we can finally restore women’s reproductive rights.”
‘Fight back with joy’
Across town, starting at noon and lasting into the middle afternoon Saturday, the Reale Justice Network held a rally for Missouri’s Amendment 3 vote at Mill Creek Park.
Music played over loudspeakers as those in attendance were encouraged to dance and spread an emotion that can be hard to come by in the election season: joy.
“One of the most revolutionary things you can have is joy,” said M’Vyonne Payne, 35, and a leader of the Reale Justice Network. “So instead of being so angry like we can feel, and is valid in times like this, we’re going to fight back with our joy.”
Payne said the goal of the event was to promote unity and help inform voters of key issues.
“We are really about stopping election misinformation,” Payne said. “It’s something that we have been going to Jefferson City and talking to our representatives (about).”
People have the right to be informed on the issues, Payne said, and that her organization strives to help make that happen.
“The goal of this event today and the hope is that we allow people to see that we are so much more stronger together than we are separated,” Payne said. “We’re gonna give them joy.”
This story was originally published November 2, 2024 at 5:32 PM.
