Abortion rights protests demand more from Biden and party leaders
After the Supreme Court overruled last week Roe vs. Wade, thousands took to the streets and attacked the decision, but messages from DC protesters and activists quickly turned to President Biden and other Democratic Party leaders. Tearful, scared and outraged protesters pushed back against the decision which is at odds with polls showing continued public support for deer and demanded to know how the people they elected would defend them.
Abortion rights advocates expressed growing frustration with Biden, criticizing his appeal to voters to run in November as a weak response to protecting civil liberties that had been safeguarded for nearly half a year. -century.
Before deer was overthrown, protesters marched outside the homes of conservative judges to demand that they do not infringe on abortion rights.
Now that the advisory has been issued, protesters staging events in DC plan to direct their anger and impatience towards what they see as a cautious response from Democratic Party leaders to the decision.
There was a flurry of anti-abortion laws: at least 13 states had “trigger bans,” designed to ban abortion if deer were overturned, and in several states these laws went into effect immediately.
Activists support calls from progressive lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.), who have outlined responses to abortion bans such as building clinics on federal lands, finding ways to provide funds to people seeking out-of-state care, dismantling the filibuster and expanding the Supreme Court. Ultimately, they want Congress to codify deer and other protections such as same-sex marriage, which they fear an emboldened Supreme Court majority will then strike down.
White House officials noted that the administration has taken steps to protect access to abortion pills and that the president has promised to protect people who must travel out of state to get abortions. The ability to secure a federal right to abortion rests with Congress. But the Senate, where the filibuster requires 60 votes to pass almost any law, is evenly split between parties.
This week, there will be protests outside Senate office buildings and civil disobedience calling for many of those same measures — and more, urging leaders to ensure people who need abortion care now may not be able to wait until after the midterm elections in November.
“They’re going to take everything we’ve worked so hard for,” Julie Leonard, 25, who is a clinic escort in Charlotte, told the Supreme Court on Saturday. “Who isn’t disappointed with Biden?”
The Women’s March, the movement that drew millions of protesters to DC and events across the country the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, organized Tuesday’s banner unfurling. The organization, which calls for a “Summer of Rage” until every person in the country has the right to an abortion, plans to demonstrate near the White House on July 9 to demand that Biden declare an emergency of public health and a national emergency to deploy resources to help people who lose access to abortion coverage.
“If you are not with us, you are our opposition,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March. “We will not win with platitudes and half measures. Now is the time to act boldly.
Our Rights DC activists, who have been protesting outside the homes of conservative justices for two months, will lead a ‘resistance march’ outside the Senate offices on Wednesday to pressure Democrats protect the right to abortion. The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), a collective of liberal groups and other organizations, plans nonviolent civil disobedience in DC on Thursday to demand Congress, including Democratic leaders, ensure people have access to safe and legal abortions, said Julia Peter of the CPD. Director of Legal Campaigns and Distributed Organizing.
“I don’t care about Republicans anymore. I focus on the Democrats. They are the ones who can turn the tide,” said Nadine Seiler, 57, of Waldorf, Maryland, who is a near-constant presence at DC protests and plans to attend both upcoming protests. “Don’t tell us to go and vote in November when we already know it’s so gerrymandered. … They’re not even trying.
Outside the Supreme Court on Friday, activist Sadie Kuhns’ eyes swelled as she heard cheers behind them from anti-abortion activists who hope abortion will one day be banned in the United States.
They thought about the miscarriage they had in November and how, therefore, they needed an abortion procedure. They were concerned about the impact of this decision on gay rights and on their trans brother. And they were mad that Democrats didn’t codify deer before it is too late.
Kuhns, 28, of Manassas, Va., spent months walking past the homes of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrette.
Now, Kuhns said Tuesday, they also plan to demand more from Democratic leaders: “If they want to keep their seats in November and they want people to feel encouraged to vote, then they need to act now.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.