WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A black 18-wheeler loaded down with timber gave a loud, long honk as it passed a group gathered in support of abortion rights outside of Hartford Town Hall.
Around 30 people walked from Standard Company Tattoo to the corner of Route 4 and Bridge Street as part of a nationwide “Bans Off Our Bodies” walkout organized by Planned Parenthood.
“We need to keep the conversation going,” Bethel resident Stella Jones said of the fight to protect abortion access after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in late June.
“We might live in a safe state where access to abortion is secure, but even though we have rights, we will stand up for the people who don’t.”
The walkout was organized Drea Brassard, of Hartford, who’s the front of house manager at Standard Company.
The tattoo shop joined forces with Lucky’s Coffee Garage in Lebanon, which also organized a gathering of around 30 at Colburn Park.
Half stood across from the fire station and the rest across from the city hall, hoisting signs that said things like “Girls Just Want Fundamental Rights” and “Abortion Saves Lives.”
“We decided to split the power between us and boost the signal,” Brassard said of the afternoon’s cross-border collaboration with Lucky’s.
“We had enough clients and knew enough like-minded community businesses to pull this off,” Brassard said. “We knew people would turn out.”
Maggie Murphy, of Cornish, and her fiancée, Natalie Thorne, showed up with their dogs, Tilly and Gizzy. They were hiking the Long Trail when the Supreme Court handed down its ruling striking down the decision that guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion.
“I turned on my phone, and the news was just devastating,” Murphy said.
Tilly, a pit bull-terrier mix, wore a taco suit that read “Paws off my parts.”
Erin McCabe brought her 1-year-old son, Conor, from Canaan for the walkout. Living in New Hampshire, McCabe said she believes her state’s reproductive guarantees are more vulnerable.
“It’s that feeling of, ‘How close can this whole scary thing actually get to me?’ ” McCabe said.
Lynn Peterson, of Wilder, said that after Roe v. Wade fell, she needed to sit with the news for a while.
“Now it really feels like I can’t let this just go by,” Peterson said. “We need to take back what we had as a country.”
Peterson said that now’s the time to start paying attention to the values of those running for office, both at the federal and local levels, before elections in November.
“We need to be sure that this kind of thing doesn’t happen again,” she said.
White River Junction residents Tracie Bentley and Joe Hillicker showed up later in the gathering with a load of water bottles for the demonstrators. The two had driven by Town Hall earlier and gave a honk of support, but they wanted to come back and do a bit more.
“It’s hot out, and these guys are doing what I wish I could be doing,” Bentley said.
Frances Mize is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at fmize@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.