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Thousands Storm Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza To Protest Missouri's Abortion Ban Bill

Alex Smith
/
KCUR
Hundred of abortion rights protesters rallied at Mill Creek Park near the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City on Sunday.

At a rally Sunday afternoon, a line of abortion-rights marchers encircled nearly the entire Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri, a distance of just over a mile.

The protesters shouted slogans and carried signs opposing an abortion bill passed by the Missouri legislators. The bill, H.B. 126, would ban abortions at about 8 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for incest or rape. Republican Gov. Mike Parson says he plans to sign it into law.

Kansas City native Channtique McClelland says she came to the rally to support women’s rights to choose whether to have abortions.

“If you’re not for abortion, I respect that, ‘cause that’s you abiding your beliefs, but don’t try to impose yourself and your beliefs on me,” McClelland said.

The protestors said that the bill violates federal protections for abortions, established by the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision, and that it would lead to women getting unsafe abortions.

Protestor Mindy Taylor said she objected to what she described as black-and-white moralizing of a complex issue.

“Just because we’re pro-choice doesn’t mean we’re pro-abortion,” Taylor said.

The Missouri bill is designed to ban abortions starting at the time when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which may be before a woman knows she is pregnant.

Sunday’s event was organized and promoted by several political groups, including Planned Parenthood Great Plains, UMKC College Democrats, ACLU of Missouri and the Green Party of Kansas City, Missouri.

The Kansas City rally was scheduled to coincide with protests in Georgia, where Republican governor Brian Kemp recently signed into law a similar fetal heartbeat measure.

If signed into law by Governor Parson, the Missouri measure is expected to face legal challenges.

Alex Smith is a health reporter for KCUR. You can reach him at alexs@kcur.org.

As a health care reporter, I aim to empower my audience to take steps to improve health care and make informed decisions as consumers and voters. I tell human stories augmented with research and data to explain how our health care system works and sometimes fails us. Email me at alexs@kcur.org.
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