Drivers going over the bridge on North Wheeling Avenue were greeted by signs in support of federal funding for family planning clinics such as Planned Parenthood.
Feminists for Action rallied across downtown Muncie Saturday afternoon to oppose Rep. Mike Pence and Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, a bill he's sponsoring which would bar federal funding for family planning clinics that offer abortions.
Briana Brown, president of Feminists for Action, said they protested outside Pence's office downtown, but decided to march after they realized there weren't very many people there.
"We went down around City Hall and the county building," she said. "We went to Republican Headquarters, but there was no one there."
The group eventually settled on the bridge where they received countless honks in support of the federal funding.
Signs such as "Support Planned Parenthood," "Honk for (healthy) vaginas," "My vagina, my choice" and "Don't tread on me" with a drawing of a uterus — a parody of the Gadsden flag — flooded both sides of the bridge.
Christine Hurst, vice president of Feminists for Action, said about 25 students attended the rally. She said the atmosphere was different from a protest they held with Planned Parenthood Tuesday.
"Representatives from Planned Parenthood were present [Tuesday], and they provided us with some protest materials," she said. "I think that usually our group tends to lead a little more radical than some of the older generations of feminists. You saw some signs [Saturday] that you normally wouldn't see when Planned Parenthood was actually there."
Most of the response the protestors received were positive, but Brown said there were a few naysayers.
"We've gotten flipped off by a few people and one guy yelled ‘I love abortions.' We got some angry faces from police and a few old women shaking their heads," she said. "But we also had two guys say ‘Mike Pence sucks.'"
Senior women's and gender studies major Allison Dreshfield said the bill would be a disservice to women who couldn't afford proper health care.
"It's just irritating to me because they're taking money away from people who can't afford things like cancer screenings," she said. "My great-aunt died of ovarian cancer, and it's like, is someone else going to develop cancer because they cant afford to pay?"
Dreshfield said the proposal is ridiculous because none of the money from federal funding goes toward abortions.
"The money is going toward things like birth control, which will prevent people from getting pregnant in the first place. I think that's more important," she said.
The group said they haven't done anything special to raise awareness on campus, but they are considering printing off flyers and starting a Facebook group.
"I'm sure a lot of Ball State students go to Planned Parenthood too because we have the Women's Center on campus, but I feel more comfortable going off campus," Brown said. "I've never really been to the health center... I'm used to Planned Parenthood because that's where I went at home and I like the people at the one here."
Brown said even though the bill passed in the House of Representatives, she doesn't think it will come to fruition. She wants to do everything she can to fight the bill, though.
"I don't think it will pass the Senate, but it's still ridiculous," she said. "So many people need Planned Parenthood, especially in Muncie, with [it] having so many low-income people... I mean, I need Planned Parenthood and I have a job."
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