With several posters and hundreds of fliers, members of the Ball State Feminists for Action gathered at the scramble light Thursday afternoon to honor the 31st anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
"We're out here representing the majority of Americans who are pro-choice," said senior Jon Hendricks, who helped coordinate the demonstration.
Activists from the Women's Studies program also joined the organization in honoring the Jan. 22, 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
Hendricks said the purpose of the demonstration was to not only advocate keeping abortion legal but to also address other important women's health issues.
"We're trying to get insurance companies to cover contraceptives and birth control," he said.
Hendricks said the organization is also striving to improve education about contraceptive use.
Sophomore Erica Blair said she chose to participate in the demonstration to stand up for Roe v. Wade and women's freedom to choose.
"The decision to abolish (this) law could cause great harm to the rest of women's health care," Blair said. "It's important that women's health care be recognized and that women are making choices for themselves, not someone else making choices for them."
As she passed out fliers, Blair said some students thanked her, while others simply threw the fliers away; however, despite the cold weather, the demonstration was effective and worthwhile, she said.
"We're not here to discriminate against anyone's views; we're just here to make people aware of what we believe," Blair said. "Everyone has a right to their own opinion."
Blair said she is also working with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America to help organize a march on Washington, D.C., April 25 to protest the assault on women's reproductive rights and health.
Tickets for the march will be on sale for $80. Blair said Feminists for Action will also hold fund-raisers such as benefit shows and concerts in February and March to help raise money.
For more information about the march, students can visit http://www.plannedparenthood.org or http://www.marchforchoice.org.
"I choose to stand up, and I'm glad I have the right to choose to stand up here today," Blair said. "It's important for me as a woman to let other women know about the choices they have and the benefits of women's right to choose," she said.
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