Bans Off Our Bodies rally at Prescott Park in Portsmouth NH

PORTSMOUTH — Michelle Cilley Foisy shared her abortion story Saturday in entrance tons of of individuals gathered at Prescott Park.

It started when she and her husband obtained tragic information 21 weeks right into a being pregnant.

“Sixteen years in the past we have been informed that Kayla solely had three chambers on her coronary heart and mainly, no mind,” she mentioned. “We have been compelled to make a horrible choice. On Dec. 10, we held her for a number of hours. She was 12 inches lengthy and weighed 14 ounces. We did impressions of her arms and ft and so they dangle on my wall.”

Cilley Foisy, who lives in Temple, spoke throughout the Bans Off Our Our bodies rally at Prescott Park, one among many held Saturday throughout america. The rallies have been sparked by a leaked draft choice indicating the U.S. Supreme Court docket seems poised to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade choice that made abortions authorized, although the court docket’s last choice is not due till June.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, it is possible abortion regulation can be set state by state, with greater than 20 poised to make abortion unlawful. Democrats within the U.S. Senate this week could not get sufficient votes to codify Roe v. Wade on the federal degree. In New Hampshire, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed laws that took impact this yr, banning abortion after 24 weeks gestation.

Extra:Would abortions in NH and Maine be unlawful if Roe is overturned?

Cilley Foisy has seven youngsters in her household, all of them very cherished, she mentioned. She cited analysis from the Guttmacher Institute reproductive well being analysis group, which discovered 25% of girls have an abortion by the tip of their childbearing years.

Cilley Foisy testified in entrance of New Hampshire lawmakers earlier this yr about her story, saying her abortion got here after follow-up assessments confirmed the unhealthy information about Kayla’s situation. The abortion got here after 22 weeks. Her testimony was adopted by lawmakers making an exception to permit abortions in New Hampshire after 24 weeks within the case of a deadly fetal anomaly. .

Cilley Foisy mentioned after her abortion, she initially informed folks she had a medical termination. 

“Now I say, I had an abortion,” she mentioned. “It was the precise choice for myself and my household. Each particular person has their very own purpose, and the precise to have autonomy over their very own physique. Voices are highly effective and we have to use them, again and again till they hear us. No girl ought to ever be compelled to hold a child to time period if it’s not the precise choice.”

Talking up for abortion rights

Organizations readily available Saturday included Deliberate Parenthood, the New Hampshire Girls’s Basis, the American Civil Liberties Union, Rights & Democracy, the Joan G. Lovering Well being Middle of Greenland and the Reproductive Freedom Fund of New Hampshire, together with state and federal politicians.

The lead organizer was Dover Excessive Faculty senior Ally Lengthy, who mentioned she reacted in horror when the leaked Supreme Court docket draft choice was reported. She determined she wanted to behave, recruiting organizations and audio system for the rally.

Lengthy was one of many audio system, too. 

“Folks ask me if they’ll make a distinction and I say — you’ll be able to,” Lengthy mentioned. “Nobody is simply too younger to make a change occur. Elevate your voice. Do not sit in silence. Help one another. Educate your self, your neighbors and one another. And vote!”

Susann and Larkin Kjellberg, mom and daughter agree. They drove from Sandwich as a result of they needed to face for girls’s rights.

“My baby right here was chosen, needed and I really like her greater than something,” Susan mentioned. “However I might by no means need anybody to be compelled to hold a baby. I’m for abortion rights as a result of I really like youngsters and I would like these right here on the planet to know they have been all chosen.”

“I feel it is loopy that different folks suppose they’ll management girls,” mentioned Larkin, 16. “We’re equal to any man. If males received pregnant, abortions would occur at Starbucks.”

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“My complete life I’ve been pro-choice and I’m not going to cease now,” mentioned Portsmouth resident Diane Stradling, 77. “I bear in mind life earlier than Roe v. Wade, and we will not return to that.”

Sandy Denoncour, government director of the Joan G. Lovering Well being Middle, mentioned New Hampshire and the nation have been on a restrictive path.

“It began with the defunding of Deliberate Parenthood,” she mentioned. “It has been troublesome to handle however now we have not restricted any instances. Nonetheless, we really feel the have to be lively on this battle. We’re small however mighty, so the most effective message is to vote, domestically and federally, vote, vote, vote.”

Politicians have their say

“We’re right here as we speak as a result of we’re horrified and outraged by the leaked choice to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, mentioned. “Issues are additionally extremely regarding on the state degree the place we’re blocking girls’s rights. That is an assault on girls and we aren’t going to allow them to try this.”

State Sen. Tom Sherman, D-Rye, who’s operating for governor, mentioned he helps a girl’s proper to decide on. He mentioned the choice is between a household and their physician and authorities has no place. 

Extra:NH schooling chief Frank Edelblut assailed for ‘bigotry.’ He sees household ‘worth system.’

“The governor signed the abortion ban right here and is clearly not pro-choice despite the fact that he tries to say he’s,’ Sherman mentioned. “I’m right here to defend girls’s rights and I’m a person of my phrase. I could be trusted to do what I say, not simply to say it.”

Sununu has referred to as himself pro-choice and vowed abortions will stay authorized in New Hampshire for as much as 24 weeks so long as he’s governor, even when Roe v. Wade is overturned. He has been criticized by Democrats for signing the 24-week abortion ban and simply this week reiterated his help for it throughout an podcast interview.

Gov. Sununu on podcast:‘I’ve executed extra on the pro-life concern, if you’ll, than anybody’

State Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, D-Portsmouth, mentioned she lives in a home of 4 girls, herself, her spouse and two daughters. 

“I don’t want my daughters to need to battle for this,” she mentioned. “Two days after the leak, I put in a invoice to codify Roe v. Wade within the New Hampshire Senate. If failed — by one vote.”