STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

That roar you heard cascading down Main Street Hailey Monday afternoon?

That was for more than 50 people marching for reproductive rights during the Hailey Days of the Old West Fourth of July Parade.

They turned out on Independence Day for rights they believed had been stripped from Americans by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade. They carried signs urging, “Abort the Court” and “Don’t Tread on Me.” And they left some parade watchers shaking their heads in amazement at the boisterous reception they received.

“There are those who need abortions. Abortion is health care,” Stevie Gawryluk told marchers before the parade. “We need to keep that option open for people”

Christine Charbonneau, a CEO at Planned Parenthood for 40 years and host of the “Fall of Roe” podcast,  said the most important thing for Idahoans to know right now is that nothing changes until changes are officially announced. The Idaho Attorney’s office expects the ban to take effect in late August or early September and that could be delayed by Planned Parenthood’s legal challenge.

Those with medical appointments should stay in touch with their medical care providers for updates, she said. If the ban goes into effect, abortions will still be available in Washington, Oregon and Nevada and, for the foreseeable future, Montana.

“Idaho has historically lacked the infrastructure to enforce action against people leaving the state to go to neighboring states to do what is legal there. Generally, however, abortion bans impact people far beyond those seeking to terminate an unwanted pregnancy,” she said.

Those impacts include the possibility that infertility treatments could be stopped. Physicians could become concerned about assisting patients with a planned pregnancy for in crisis. Miscarriages of planned pregnancies also could be scrutinized in an environment hostile to abortion care, particularly  if  Idaho’s bounty law is upheld.

The bounty law allows family members to turn in pregnant relatives for a $20,000 reward if those facilitating an abortion are found guilty.

“Bounty laws like the one in Idaho and that of Texas will be challenged, and medical establishments cooperating with this scheme could find themselves the subjects of serious HIPAA violation fines,” she said.

Gawryluk urged marchers reach out to politicians.

“A phone call takes 30 seconds. A letter a few minutes,” she said. “We’re in this together. Others are going to see us marching and know they’re not alone.”