Flathead Valley residents who want abortion rights enshrined in the state constitution and those who would like to see restrictions placed on access held respective rallies Saturday in Kalispell.

The Bigger Than Roe rally took place at Depot Park, hosted by the Flathead Democrats and Flathead Democratic Women. Around 30 people lined South Main Street, holding signs with messages supporting access to abortion, such as “mind your own uterus” and “women’s rights are human rights.”

Flathead Democratic Women President Angela Kennedy said the rally was in solidarity with others across the country to remember the 1973 ruling of Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court overturned the decision in June of 2022, leading many states to pass laws restricting access to abortion. 

The 2023 Montana Legislature passed several restrictions on abortion, which are being challenged in court as in violation of Montana’s constitutional right to privacy.

Kennedy said she sees the proposed restrictions as limiting health care for women. Outside of non-life threatening circumstances where someone might not want to keep a child, she said many people have to make complicated choices when it comes to their health or their baby’s health.

“I've heard so many stories of women who have had to lose one twin to keep another, or to keep their life. So you know, there are situations where it's important that we still have that ability. I tell dear friends of mine, nobody wants an abortion, it's a choice that you make. And we'd like to keep that choice open,” Kennedy said.  

Donna Pridmore held a sign and waved as some cars honked in support of the rally. She said she had an illegal abortion in 1971 that nearly took her life, so she fights to protect access to safe abortions.

“I think it's misogynistic and criminal,” Pridmore said of the recent attempts to restrict access or outlaw abortion in Montana.

She supports the proposed ballot measure spearheaded by Montana Planned Parenthood to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. Attorney General Austin Knudsen blocked Ballot Measure No. 14 last week, finding it to be legally insufficient.

JoLynn Yenne, and Keith and Trudy Blaylock bared the cold afternoon to participate in the Bigger Than Roe rally. 

Yenne said she’s concerned also about access to birth control.

“We've got to advocate for birth control and we do have to have abortion for the people that need it — and it should be just available whenever they do need it. That's my stance,” Yenne said. 

Trudy Blaylock said she remembers the original Roe v. Wade decision.

“I remember the relief to people that I knew that had to have an abortion, not because they wanted to,” Trudy Blaylock said. “And they've taken our rights away. I'm a woman and I am just as good as any man out there, and nobody has the right to tell me what to do with my body.”

Her husband Keith said he disagreed with Knudsen’s recent decision on the proposed ballot initiative. 

“He's going to force it into the courtroom again, which is going to end up costing the taxpayers more money. And overall, I don't think they can override the constitution — one of the best constitutions in the country is right here in the state of Montana,” Keith said.

THE PROPOSED ballot initiative was also a topic of discussion at the March for Life rally, taking place at the Central Bible Church in Kalispell. The event was hosted by Flathead Prolife and served as the main fundraising event for the organization, according to co-chairs Laura Lee and John O’Neil, who welcomed the large crowd. 

“There's no time to waste. Unless we do all we can, evil will continue to win,” John O’Neil said. “God is calling us to gather. He tells us that victory will be given when we fight with all we have.” 

The event featured speakers Robin Sertell and Jim Weber, abortion survivors who shared their experience and how it has impacted their beliefs.

Sertell condemned Ballot Measure No. 14, urging attendees to learn more about it. 

“We are currently in a 10-day window where the sponsor of this ballot initiative gets to go before our uber liberal Supreme Court and say ‘Oh, please, would you overturn that? Because we think it's a good idea and we're friends, right? So let it fly.’ And so it probably will go forward,” Sertell said. 

She asked for prayer as the 10-day window continues and gave out a flyer with information about ballot initiative No. 14.  

Laura Lee O’Neil said the event served to raise awareness for the anti-abortion message, that personhood begins at conception and therefore every life is worth protecting. 

She said she supports many of the legislative attempts to restrict abortion, but believes they are not sufficient for their goals of ending nearly all access to abortion. 

“I think a lot of those bills are really excellent, but I don't think they go far enough.

“Our biggest challenge right now is our courts. We pass really good bills, as far as they go, and then they get hung up in court. So that's something that hopefully we can change,” Laura Lee O’Neil said. 

She said they are going to do everything they can to see that Ballot Measure No. 14 doesn’t move forward. 

As the rally moved to a march through downtown Kalispell, attendee Jessica Heaton said she was there to show the community that they should “stand up for life.” 

“One of the big things that I'm here for is to also be supportive of mothers who are in crisis pregnancies. I think that's really important. It is about the baby's life, but it's also about the mother's life. So making sure that people know it's both,” Heaton said. 

Gerry Nolan said he was moved by the testimony given by the abortion survivors. 

“When you're talking about life and death, it’s emotional stuff. I can't imagine that … that's got to be a burden that one carries for quite some time,” Nolan said.  

He hopes the ballot initiative will not proceed.

“It would be so un-Christian and un-American to say that. If abortion is a right, when does that end? You know, we can kill an unborn baby … then who can you kill after that?” Nolan questioned. 

The March for Life also coincided with other anti-abortion rallies across the U.S. Thousands of activists convened in Washington, D.C. on Friday, the second rally of its kind since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com.

    Participants gather at Depot Park in Kalispell to hold signs and wave to passing motorists at a gathering organized by Flathead Democrats In support of the "Bigger Than Roe -- National Women's March" on Saturday, Jan. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Participants gather at Depot Park in Kalispell to hold signs and wave to passing motorists at a gathering organized by Flathead Democrats In support of the "Bigger Than Roe -- National Women's March" on Saturday, Jan. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Participants gather at Depot Park in Kalispell to hold signs and wave to passing motorists at a gathering organized by Flathead Democrats In support of the "Bigger Than Roe -- National Women's March" on Saturday, Jan. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Participants gather at Depot Park in Kalispell to hold signs and wave to passing motorists at a gathering organized by Flathead Democrats In support of the "Bigger Than Roe -- National Women's March" on Saturday, Jan. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Participants hold signs and walk along South Main Street during the Flathead ProLife 41st annual Rally and March For Life in Kalipsell on Saturday, Jan. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Participants hold signs and walk along South Main Street during the Flathead ProLife 41st annual Rally and March For Life in Kalipsell on Saturday, Jan. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider 

    Participants hold signs and walk along South Main Street during the Flathead ProLife 41st annual Rally and March For Life in Kalipsell on Saturday, Jan. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Participants hold signs and walk along South Main Street during the Flathead ProLife 41st annual Rally and March For Life in Kalipsell on Saturday, Jan. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider