The Voice Behind the Choice: How young people are making a difference in the abortion rights movement, and how you can as well

Camera bag and press pass in hand, 2022 East alum and freelance photographer Emma Kate Squires instantly ran out the door to her car once she heard the news of a protest at the Plaza.

The protest — a women’s rights march responding to news of the Supreme Court’s potential overturn of Roe v. Wade — was the perfect chance for Squires to document a historical event while adding to her photography portfolio before another scholarship deadline passed.

To Squires, photography is more than just snapping pictures — it’s a way to make change, which she views as an important responsibility amid the current state of abortion rights.

“I’ve always really liked shooting protests,” Squires said. “It makes me feel like I’m doing something bigger. I like my portrait sessions and taking photos of people that way, but I really love the feeling of making change.”

When Roe v. Wade was officially overturned on June 24, Squires posted her photos from the protest on her Instagram along with a caption encouraging viewers to vote in the August 2 special election. Through sharing her political perspective through photography, Squires felt like she was able to make a difference in the ongoing abortion rights battle.

“Historically, photography has always been the way that word has gotten out about strong political movements because people are really impacted by something they can see,” Squires said. “Having people see this with their own eyes is something that I don’t think that you can get anyway else [other than photography].”

2018 East alum and founder of Pro Choice For Kansas Sophie Kunin agrees as she’s also an advocate for political involvement surround abortion rights. Her goal of informing Kansas voters of what they can expect the ballot to look like is more specialized than Squires’ general goal of spreading awareness.

The main point of confusion that Kunin anticipates is the wording of the ballot. She believes that the Value Them Both amendment is worded in a way that could confuse voters.

The amendment begins with the phrase “Because Kansans value both women and children” — which Kunin says could potentially cause typically pro-choice, left-leaning voters to approve the amendment. However, she says that this is misleading in the sense that it actually limits abortion access rather than supports it.

“It sounds like if you vote yes, you’re supporting the right to abortion,” Kunin said. “That’s why I wanted to raise awareness about what ‘vote no’ means because a lot of people I’m afraid are going to show up during the election who support abortion rights and support people having [autonomy] of their own bodies. But they’re gonna read the ballot, and they might accidentally vote against their ideology and what they want.”

So far, Kunin has spread the word by creating a petition with 816 signatures and counting in order to raise awareness of what exactly “vote no” and “vote yes” mean. Each signature represents a citizen who agrees that they understand the amendment and promises to share their understanding with other voters. She also posts activism and informational content on Instagram for viewers to educate themselves on the issue.

Both Squires and Kunin recommend getting involved in the movement by attending protests, voting, spreading awareness on the issues and making your voice heard by local lawmakers. 

“We really need younger people to be aiding in this movement because we are the next generation of officials,” Kunin said. “The world is becoming more progressive, and we need people that are going to be supportive of equality out there helping these campaigns.”

Map contains information about polling locations and dates. Click on each point to find specific addresses and dates for each location.

*Photo credits to Emma Kate Squires