ROANOKE, Va. – In the center of a polarized political debate stands Roe v. Wade.
The landmark case on privacy and in turn, a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion would have turned 50 Sunday if it hadn’t been overturned in June.
Kathryn Huntress helped organize the ‘Freedom for All’ protest in Roanoke shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the ruling.
“My belief system isn’t based on whether I think abortions are right or wrong,” Huntress said. “It’s based on the fact that as a human species, we’re really intelligent — we should be able to have the right to choose what happens to our own bodies.”
Delegate Sam Rasoul stands by the right to privacy formerly protected by Roe v. Wade.
“Roe v. Wade was about privacy. It wasn’t even about abortion,” Rasoul said. “And the fundamental right to have a certain level of privacy. And that’s something that we should maintain at all costs.”
Sunday also marks National Sanctity of Human Life Day.
CEO of the Blue Ridge Women’s Center Ann Russell says they agree with the court’s move to overturn the ruling, and want to support women through pregnancy and beyond.
“We want to give that information for our clients and for those walking through our door to make that informed decision in a loving and safe environment,” Russell said.
They’ve seen an uptick in requests for services.
“Which makes me very happy because we do want to be that first choice, that safe place for them when making their decisions about their pregnancy,” Russell said.
Rasoul says in the months since Roe v. Wade, Virginia laws have stayed the same — allowing abortions through the second trimester, and when a woman’s life is at risk.
“We’ve been able to have solid laws on the books,” Rasoul said.
He says this is in part because of healthcare providers.
“When a woman is making a certain decision in privacy, when there are certain medical decisions in privacy, like when there are certain medical complications for example, that responsible decisions are being made,” Rasoul said.
Huntress wants the dialogue surrounding abortion to change.
“Each person has a road to go down, each person has decisions to make about their future and their health,” she said.