Cravah Granovetter, of Kingston, holds a sign declaring her to be a survivor of an ectopic pregnancy, to which she says an abortion ended up saving her life by terminating an unviable pregnancy. She was one of many pro-choice protestors who rallied at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Saturday.
                                 Kevin Carroll | Times Leader

Cravah Granovetter, of Kingston, holds a sign declaring her to be a survivor of an ectopic pregnancy, to which she says an abortion ended up saving her life by terminating an unviable pregnancy. She was one of many pro-choice protestors who rallied at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Saturday.

Kevin Carroll | Times Leader

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<p>Kara Krueger (center), the host for Saturday’s pro-choice rally, addresses the crowd from the Courthouse steps.</p>
                                 <p>Kevin Carroll | Times Leader</p>

Kara Krueger (center), the host for Saturday’s pro-choice rally, addresses the crowd from the Courthouse steps.

Kevin Carroll | Times Leader

<p>The Luzerne County Courthouse was the site for a pro-choice rally on Saturday afternoon. Protestors and activists from all over the area came with signs and chants to fight for the right to choose in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade court case.</p>
                                 <p>Kevin Carroll | Times Leader</p>

The Luzerne County Courthouse was the site for a pro-choice rally on Saturday afternoon. Protestors and activists from all over the area came with signs and chants to fight for the right to choose in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade court case.

Kevin Carroll | Times Leader

<p>The Luzerne County Courthouse was the site for a pro-choice rally on Saturday afternoon. Protestors and activists from all over the area came with signs and chants to fight for the right to choose in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade court case.</p>
                                 <p>Kevin Carroll | Times Leader</p>

The Luzerne County Courthouse was the site for a pro-choice rally on Saturday afternoon. Protestors and activists from all over the area came with signs and chants to fight for the right to choose in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade court case.

Kevin Carroll | Times Leader

<p>The Luzerne County Courthouse was the site for a pro-choice rally on Saturday afternoon. Protestors and activists from all over the area came with signs and chants to fight for the right to choose in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade court case.</p>
                                 <p>Kevin Carroll | Times Leader</p>

The Luzerne County Courthouse was the site for a pro-choice rally on Saturday afternoon. Protestors and activists from all over the area came with signs and chants to fight for the right to choose in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade court case.

Kevin Carroll | Times Leader

<p>The Luzerne County Courthouse was the site for a pro-choice rally on Saturday afternoon. Protestors and activists from all over the area came with signs and chants to fight for the right to choose in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade court case.</p>
                                 <p>Kevin Carroll | Times Leader</p>

The Luzerne County Courthouse was the site for a pro-choice rally on Saturday afternoon. Protestors and activists from all over the area came with signs and chants to fight for the right to choose in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade court case.

Kevin Carroll | Times Leader

WILKES-BARRE — Nearly a month since the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Roe v. Wade court case that guaranteed abortion access as a federally protected right, pro-choice activists around the Wyoming Valley have continued to fight for their rights and call for change.

That fight continued Saturday on the steps and along the sidewalk outside the Luzerne County Courthouse, as a sea of protesters held a rally in support of that right to choose, holding signs high and soliciting honks and cheers from cars passing by.

“This is absolutely incredible, it’s very inspiring,” said Kara Krueger, the host of the rally. “I’m very humbled by the amount of people that are here.”

Krueger set up a table at the foot of the Courthouse steps on the River Street side of the building with information about the cause as well as information about state Senate Bill 106, a resolution proposing, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s website, “… amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania providing that there is no constitutional right to taxpayer-funded abortion or other rights relating to abortion.”

With the bill’s information on the table also sat a list of legislators in both chambers of the state General Assembly who voted for passage of the bill.

“My goal is to get them out of office,” Krueger said of the legislators who voted to approve SB 106. “I am giving everybody the information on how to do that … I’m trying to get the education out there on what we could do to make changes effectively.”

Intermittently throughout the rally, Krueger would address the crowd from the Courthouse steps using a megaphone, thanking everyone for their support and making it clear that, come November’s election, it would be more than just politicians on the ballot.

“Our choices now are safe, but in November, they might not be,” Krueger said. “Extremist views are like wildfire — difficult to snuff out, and they’re catching on…people are at war for our freedoms.”

In between prepared remarks, Krueger encouraged protesters to talk with one another, learn each other’s stories and come together in solidarity.

Many of the rally’s attendees had a personal connection to the pro-choice cause, like Kingston resident Chavah Granovetter.

Granovetter’s sign told the story: she is the survivor of an ectopic pregnancy, a pregnancy in which the fertilized egg grows outside the uterus, which could be fatal for the person carrying the egg.

“A quote unquote abortion saved my life, and now the treatment that saved my life is being outlawed in some states,” she said. “I have two children, and I’m fighting for their rights … all voices need to be heard.”

For Emma Rodriguez, the issue of choice resonates with her because of her experience in the foster care system growing up.

“Instead of forcing children on people, the system should be focused on helping those who already have children,” Rodriguez said. “The foster care system is already overloaded, I’d hate for it to get even worse.”

Rodriguez made the trip to Wilkes-Barre all the way from New Albany in Bradford County.

“As soon as the [Roe v. Wade] decision was made, I started looking for protests to go to,” she said. “I was really impressed to see how many people turned up, and there’s a lot of men here in support, too.”

As part of the rally, a box with three candles was kept on Krueger’s table while she spoke to the crowd.

Each of the candles had a purpose, according to Krueger: the first in recognition of any childbearing person living in a state where abortion bans have been enacted, the second for children forced to carry babies born of rape to term and the third for babies who could never be born, pregnancies that were not viable and never had a chance of survival.

A fourth, unlit candle represented the group rallying on Saturday, according to Krueger. It remained unlit because, like she said, the people gathered on Saturday still had their right to abortion access and choice intact while Gov. Tom Wolf has pledged to veto any abortion ban that comes across his desk while still in office.

For Krueger, just like many others in attendance on Saturday, losing her right to choose could mean life or death.

“I’m one of the women who is at risk of losing their life if this ban goes into effect,” she said. “I’m disabled and if I’m forced to carry a fetus, I will die … that can not happen.”