ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is impacting every single American. For anti-abortion advocates, Friday marked a historical day to protect the lives of the unborn.
Quad City Right To Life President Lorrie Bowman said the decision is, "so exciting and really hard to believe."
"Even babies that were scheduled for abortion today in some clinics and some states are going to live now," Bowman said. "And I think that's profound."
But for Tracy Jones, all she could think about was her mom, Shirley Johnson.
"She was born in 1939, so you got to assume that like Shirley Temple may have been popular back then or something," Jones told News 8's Shelby Kluver.
While she doesn't have many memories of her mother, Jones does have a picture of her mother with a pregnant belly, Jones growing inside.
"When she died, I was a little over a year, I was 15 months old," Jones said.
In 1971, Shirley was in an unthinkable position. She had separated from her husband and already had three children when she found out she was pregnant with another.
"With that particular pregnancy, the doctor told her she probably would die, but they were unable to do anything," Jones said. "So she traveled to New York to get an abortion. But by the time she was able to get there, she discovered she was 24 weeks along."
Shirley died a few weeks later due to complications. It's a fate her daughter worries more women may face.
"When you're pregnant, you, especially when you already have kids, you know, like how sacred that is," said Jones. "But at the same time, she wasn't able to make her own decision. And that's wrong."
Now, with abortion laws up to individual states, Tracy is turning her attention to one thing — channeling her fear into action.
"We need to vote. We need to get out there because our kids are depending on us," Jones said. "The only way we're going to change this is if we vote. Only way."
Abortion is still legal in both Iowa and Illinois. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker held a press conference stressing that those in the Midwest will have access to the procedure in Illinois.
In Iowa, however, Gov. Kim Reynolds has been very vocal about banning the procedure. Last Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court voted to overturn the 2018 decision that allowed Iowans the fundamental right to abortion.