Pro-choice protestors rally in Pierre to protest state’s abortion law

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota’s strict abortion law brought about 100 people to the State Capital complex on Saturday to protest.

Those who showed up spent the first half of the day sharing personal stories about how the “trigger law,” which went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June, will effect them and their loved ones, and why it shouldn’t be in place.

“I really hope that going forward that when they make these laws that they take us into account, when they are passing these bills that they do effect some more than others,” said Cassie Hudson, one of the event organizers for the “Roe v. Wade” protest.

There was an increased police presence at the State Capitol grounds, like other demonstrations before this one. Organizers say they were extremely pleased with the support they got from both local officials and the Highway Patrol in going through the permit process.

“They were amazing, the Pierre City Commissioners were great, they were very helpful with all the paperwork to get a permit that we had to fill out,” said Cassidy Biverdorf, another event organizer. “The Pierre Police Department and the Highway Patrol were great to work with, they were so nice and they were on the same page as us with everything to make sure this worked.”

The permit application organizers filled out suggested that between 300 and 500 people may come, and a Facebook event for the rally had 564 people either “going” or “interested.” Given the travel required to get to Pierre for most in the state, organizers said they were happy with the turnout.

Now, they hope to carry the momentum into the November election, and into next year’s state legislative session.

“My goal is to get people registered to vote, ideally to get abortion rights on the ballot as soon as possible, for us to vote on that in South Dakota since it is a state issue now and not a federal one,” said Biverdorf. “We just want to do that, get people registered to vote, and build a community made up of all kinds of different people to support each other at this time.”

The protest continued through Sunday, with a “sit-in” and live music planned on a road just north of the State Capitol building.

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