OUTRAGE!

Outrage was the nationwide response to the Supreme Court’s leaked document that shows conservatives on the court plan to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Outrage and anger are appropriate emotions for a bunch of misogynist patriarchal Republican white men obsessed with controlling women’s bodies and lives by state forced pregnancy.  

With only a few hours’ notice, millions of women, men, and children flooded the streets in cities and towns to show resistance to the Supreme Court’s politicizing and weaponizing the law against women that would make them second-class citizens.

The leaked draft opinion states that each state should decide on abortion law. If this becomes law, it will divide the country into states where a woman has a right to an abortion and states where women do not have a right to an abortion.  In those states, doctors who perform abortions will be criminalized and incarcerated, and women who receive abortions may also be imprisoned.

If Roe v. Wade is overthrown, 26 states would immediately move to outlaw or limit a woman’s ability to obtain an abortion. Millions of women and girls will lose reproductive rights and live under an authoritarian theocracy.

According to Michale Moore, this violates the Constitution’s First Amendment, which states that “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion.” If the Supreme Court overthrows Roe, it will force all Americans (regardless of their religious beliefs or no beliefs) to follow the strict religious beliefs of fundamental Evangelicals and Catholics.  

States where abortions are illegal will hurt poor women and women of color the most because they may not have the resources to drive hundreds or thousands of miles to another state where abortion is legal. Plus, they will be the target of harsh treatment by racists, sheriffs, judges, district attorneys, and politicians. 

Whereas wealthy, privileged white women will be able to obtain an abortion in a different state or country. Conservative Republican women also get abortions secretly while in public; they oppose abortion. 

This pro-life movement is hypocritical. They only care about the unborn, but you are on your own once you are born. They put billionaires’ needs ahead of children, women, and families. 

The Trump administration pushed for deep cuts to programs that help families and children afford their basic needs, all to pay for a $1.5 TRILLION  tax cut that benefits wealthy individuals and corporations, as reported in American Progress.

Trump’s trillion tax cut saved $24.8 billion for the top 1% and $12.3 billion for the rest of the top 10%, source National Bureau of Economic Research. 

Why poor white people continue to support this man who cares nothing about them is a mystery.

THOUSANDS RALLY IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA TO EXPRESS OUTRAGE

AT THE SUPREME COURT

A young woman said she lost some of her religious friends when she told them that she was raped and got an abortion. “They said my decision was wrong and selfish.  There are many reasons why women get abortions, but each individual has the right to bodily autonomy,” she said. 

“We know the court is not going to save us. We have to save ourselves by organizing and putting pressure on District Attorneys to not prosecute women for having an abortion.  I don’t want to live in a city that locks women up for having an abortion by exercising their right to body autonomy,” another woman said. 

“I come here as an ally and a son of Georgia. We will make Georgia understand that when you come for one of our rights, you come for all of our rights. This is a clarion call for us to stand up for women and to speak in one voice – not one step back,” Gerald Griggs, President of NAACP, said. 

“In one day, this rally is bigger than any politician on the ballot in Georgia because the power is with the people.  The person who wants to take your bodily integrity is on the ballot; the person who wants to take our voting rights is on the ballot. The person who wants to take us back to 1851 or 1950 is on the ballot in Georgia.” 

“This is the battle of our lifetime. I see the tapestry of Georgia in this crowd.  We got black and white, men and women, gay and straight, Christians, Muslims, Hindi, atheists, and voters.”

“Joe Biden, we don’t want to hear what you can’t do; we want to hear what you can do. We want you to give us an executive order to protect reproductive rights and an executive order to protect voting rights. You can do this, Joe.  So do your job and give us an executive order to protect our rights,” Griggs said.

VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE AND DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON IT

In 2019 Georiga passed a forced pregnancy bill, a ban on all abortions after six weeks, and Governor Kemp signed it into law. It’s tied up in court now, so you can still get an abortion in Georgia. We need to elect pro-choice people like Stacey Abrams as governor and pro-choice people to the State House and State Senate that will roll back these vile, repressive laws. 

People did not believe they would ever lose reproductive rights, and they are shocked at this total disregard for women and abandoning precedent by this Supreme Court’s opinion draft.  Republicans have already tried to overturn an election. So don’t be surprised when they go after bans on same-sex marriage, bans on interracial marriage bans on birth control. They have no shame or boundaries in their lust for power at any cost. 

We must vote all the Trump-supporting Republican politicians out of power with their lies and agenda to destroy democracy. They have eliminated the Violence Against Women Act, passed laws to prevent teachers from teaching racial history, passed laws to make it harder for minorities and young people to vote, invaded school board meeting with threats of violence, and gerrymandered districts; there is no end to the destruction Republicans who are subservient to Trump have and will cause to this country.

In a statement, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund said, “Let this be a warning to the out-of-touch politicians standing in the way of our reproductive freedom. People are watching. People are furious. And this November, the people will vote you out.”

IF ROE V. WADE IS OVERTURNED, WILL IT AFFECT THE CREDIBILITY OF THE SUPREME COURT?

In 2021, Justice Sonia Sotomayor urged her conservative colleagues to follow precedent and not politics in deciding abortion cases. Sotomayor warned them that the Supreme Court wouldn’t survive the stench of overturning Roe v. Wade. 

According to a draft recently released to the public, five conservative Supreme Court justices are prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

How can we trust justices on the Supreme Court appointed by Trump after he vowed to put pro-life justices on the court to overturn Roe v. Wade?  This is the bargain Trump made with evangelical leaders like Franklin Graham. They gave Trump a list of people the Federalist Society wanted on the Supreme Court. You appoint them, and we will bring you millions of voters, as reported on the Amanpour & Company on Public Broadcasting Service.

Most were vague during their confirmation hearing when asked if Roe was settled law.  Several said it was an important precedent of the Supreme Court. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is pro-choice, asked Kavanaugh if he considered Roe settled law. She voted for his confirmation because he answered, “Yes, Roe was settled law.” Oh, Susan, when will you learn that they often lie to get what they want?

If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, it will be bad for the country, bad for democracy, bad for women, and it will continue to divide the country.  The  Supreme Court will be viewed as a political tool of religious extremists who want to force their religious beliefs on everyone.

Democrats and Republicans, once not long ago, debated policies.  Today we fight for democracy against a growing fascist authoritarian movement spearheaded by Trump.

Written and photos by Gloria Tatum

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