LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Chanting and marching could be heard and seen in downtown Louisville for the second day in a row.
Wednesday, pro-choice groups again made their voices heard, angry after a leaked Supreme Court draft showed a conservative majority might overturn Roe v. Wade. The decades-old decision made the right to an abortion legal in all states across the country.
A group of anti-abortion protestors also countered with their arguments.
The crowd was much larger than the nearly 30 people who showed up Tuesday. Day two of the protests brought out about 200 people on the steps of Metro Hall, who later marched down several blocks.
"You can hear the anger in everyone's voice,” Jo Carpenter, a pro-choice advocate, said.
She said she came for the rights of all women.
"Women are going to die. It's point-blank,” Carpenter said. “If you take away safe and legal abortions like my sign says, it's not going to stop, it's going to get worse and nobody likes to think about that part. The life of the unborn child matters but the life of the already alive woman apparently don't.”
Markelle Harris, another pro-choice advocate, said the leaked SCOTUS draft put her on edge.
"The initial feeling I had was fear,” she said.
However, she used that fear to protest and try to make a change.
"No one should be telling us what we can do with our bodies. We should have autonomy over us,” she said. “You worry about you. I worry about me."
Harris said she felt at home and comforted in the crowd of nearly 200 people.
"In Louisville, there's so much support for women and I knew the turnout was going to be great and for all the next ones that we have, it's going to be just like this and probably even bigger,” she said.
Carpenter said it’ll be bigger and louder.
"Honestly, like this younger generation especially, we know what's going on and we know what's right,” she said. “We're ready to throw down. We'll take it on, so yeah, I think it'll keep up."
For now, abortion clinics are still open; Louisville is home to the state's only two providers.
A federal judge recently extended a temporary block on House Bill 3, which would ban most abortions after 15 weeks.
Tuesday, WHAS11 spoke to Kentucky Right to Life Executive Director Addia Wuchner. She said she is holding off on celebrating for now and will instead wait for an official decision.
Wuchner said she will continue to push for House Bill 3.
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