Anti-abortion group Right to Life Louisville’s festival turns into celebration after Supreme Court ruling – 89.3 WFPL News Louisville

Dozens of people celebrated in the green space of St. Louis Bertrand Catholic Church in the Limerick borough on Saturday for LifeFest, an anti-abortion event organized by Right to Life Louisville.

The free event included booths for anti-abortion organizations, live music, food and a petting zoo.

“We wanted to put on a festival, a fun festival that shows the love of the pro-life community,” said Right to Life Louisville director Corey Koellner. “We invited our pro-life partners into the community so people in the community could see the great network we have of pro-life resources.”

Right to Life Louisville had planned the event before organizers knew the U.S. Supreme Court was issuing a ruling stripping federal abortion access protections.

The justices voted 6-3 to uphold a Mississippi law banning abortion at 15 weeks and giving states the power to regulate abortion access. The ruling activated Kentucky’s “trigger law,” meaning nearly all abortions are now illegal in the state.

“Yesterday was quite a surprise for us, at least for us at Right to Life, so it became something of a celebration,” Koellner said.

Supporters of the anti-abortion movement said Friday’s ruling had been in the works for nearly 50 years, referencing the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade who created federal protections for abortion access.

Chris O’Toole has described himself as a lifelong anti-abortion advocate. He said he had been advocating for the right to life since he was a child alongside his grandmother.

“We’re celebrating the reversal because we’re giving it back to the right of the people,” O’Toole said. “Yes, it’s a big step. I’m glad to see it knocked down, but we still have a lot of work to do.

According to O’Toole, this involves getting states where elected officials have not enacted anti-abortion laws to create their own anti-abortion legislation.

O’Toole also mentioned the constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot in November. This would add language saying that the state constitution does not protect abortion access or funding.

Some supporters of Roe’s reversal said they understand Friday’s decision upsets a lot of people, but hope abortion access advocates would be willing to sit down and talk with them.

“We would like to walk with them and do what we can to help them so they don’t feel like they have to have an abortion,” Mary Kenney said.

Kenney said she hopes these discussions will help foster understanding among those who support abortion access of other resources available to pregnant women.

She says she hopes for a “culture of life” in the country where future parents feel supported.

America is one of the few countries that does not offer paid parental leave. It also ranks among other wealthy nations for its maternal mortality rate.

A lot of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization supporters of the decision at the event focused on the immediate effects of the decision. The other implications suggested by Justice Clarence Thomas’ competing opinion that the High Court could then strike down access to contraception or certain LGBTQ rights were not at the forefront of their minds.

Koellner said he doesn’t think things like LGTBQ rights will be affected anytime soon, while Kenney said she expects that to be the case and that states shouldn’t “legalize rights.” things that are not marriage”.