Women take to the polls in a fight to protect abortion rights

Audrey Hamilton, Sarah Janito and Noel Reyes contributed reporting to this story

Ever since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, 13 states have passed complete abortion bans across the country. As a result, abortion access and reproductive freedoms have been at the forefront during this election. 

Although reproductive legislation is not on the ballot for the state of Illinois, it is for 10 states like Missouri, South Dakota and Nebraska, who are voting to overturn the abortion bans that were put in place after Dobbs v. Jackson. Missouri and South Dakota make up two of the 13 states with total bans while Nebraska restricts abortion after 12 weeks. Missouri, however, does not make any exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, making it one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws. The only exceptions are cases of medical emergencies.

Missouri is particularly relevant to Illinois because if voters are not successful in overturning the abortion bans, many will continue to seek out-of-state abortion care. Last year, approximately 8,710 Missourians traveled to Illinois for abortions. Healthcare providers in Illinois will continue to absorb this influx of patients seeking reproductive care unless Missouri is successful. 

Many voters, especially women, feel strongly about reproductive rights and never expected that these rights would ever be up for debate during their lifetime.

Leah Donovan, a student at DePaul, said, “I’m a little frustrated with Democrats in general because they definitely could have enshrined it into law instead of having that rest on a Supreme Court decision. So, I’m kind of annoyed that I’m even having to continue to vote with that as my primary issue in this day and age.”

Throughout this election, it has become more common for women to have differing stances on abortion from their partners. Clare Hennessy said, “It’s been a tough election season for me … my partner has different beliefs than I do, so it was important for me to vote and to maintain that individuality even though I am in a partnership with someone who disagrees.”

Reflecting on her reasons for voting, she said, “I voted for women: women’s reproductive rights, trans rights, access to women’s healthcare in general, and overall, a broader message of unity and respect and understanding instead of hatred and rage.”

Many voters trust Harris to protect abortion rights and are experiencing high amounts of anxiety over the election results. One of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign strategies has been her strong stance on protecting abortion rights. During many of her rallies, she was joined on stage by women whose health and pregnancies were jeopardized due to abortion restrictions in their state. Although Trump has publicly taken credit for appointing the three conservative Supreme Court justices that overturned the protections of Roe, his stance has changed. He now claims that he will not sign a national abortion ban, leaving the decision up to the states. 

Leila Shakarchi, a DePaul student, said, “I’m nervous as f–k. My whole family is nervous. My friends are nervous. If Kamala wins, I can walk the street and breathe. But if Trump wins all hell is going to go down.” 

Shakarchi, who came out to vote because of bodily autonomy, said she and her friends plan on staying up all night to watch the polls, despite the nerves. 

Among those concerned with women’s rights, voters were also concerned about LGBTQ+ rights, trans rights, and gender equality.

Eli Clary, a student at DePaul, said: “Reproductive healthcare, obviously, women’s rights, trans rights, LGBTQ rights are most important, because a lot of those affect me. I feel like it’s becoming more of an issue recently of those rights being threatened to be taken away, so I think it’s really important for me to get my ballot in to make sure those stay in place.” 

They came out to vote in order to preserve their rights along with those close to them. Women are determined to have their voices heard this election and were willing to wait hours in the rain to cast their vote.

Header by Meredith Bach