Dobbs v. JWHO

Well, it’s been a month since the last blog post but we have been pretty busy, even busier than the usual busy.

The December 1st hearing of arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in the matter of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO) has had us busy with press and preparation to go to Washington DC to stand with #QueenWarrior and clinic JWHO director Shannon Brewer, JWHO, and to stand up for our constitutional and human right to abortion.

We made the trip and well, it was a trip.

We Engage went to Washington DC to show our support for Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO) and to stand up for our right to abortion at the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) Rally for Our Rights on December 1st.

We were joined by hundreds of people also there to support the right to abortion, like our friends at Abortion Access Front, Capital Care Clinic Escorts , Thank God For Abortion as well as a host of other organizations, many under the umbrella of the brand new coalition group Liberate Abortion.

However, it wasn’t enough to overcome the antis and their disruption of the CRR rally. When we got there early Wednesday, the CRR rally’s stage and speakers were surrounded by street preacher Ruben Israel and his street preacher friends; they had created a line of street preachers around the CRR stage, while one street preacher screamed horrible things non-stop. If you weren’t inside the antis’ line, you couldn’t hear or see the speakers. You wouldn't have even known there WAS something behind the line of street preachers.

That’s how it went. Another day on the sidewalks. It is somewhat fitting that antis showed up in force, outnumbered the pro-choice supporters, just like they do to patients and escorts on the daily across America. It felt very much like that.

Antis bussed in schools of kids and young adults; Liberty University students came in on HUGE buses, it was reported there were 20 busses with 50 students each - 1000 students just from Liberty University. And there were SO MANY MORE BUSSES.

It just shows where we are right now when it comes to securing our rights. It shows what we have been doing isn’t working, and it hasn’t worked. More speeches and counting on the courts are obviously not enough – we see where that has gotten us, where we are now. Yet we seem to continue to do the same things over and over, and hope for better, different results. You know, there’s a word for that…

Let’s just say the day outside the Court reflected our everyday reality outside the clinic. Outspent, overrun, and shouted down by antis in a place we have every right to occupy, threatening to take rights that are ours. It was disappointing and disheartening, but not terribly surprising.

Keep doing what you have always done and expect to get what you always got. We can’t afford that anymore – it’s time for people to think outside the “respectability” box and get engaged in this fight for our rights. Until that happens, we can expect more of the same.

If you can't get out and do, then support those who are doing the work ON THE GROUND.

It's going to take us ALL, pulling TOGETHER to reverse this. And unfortunately for some of us, it may be too late.

#AbortionIsEssential #EngagementMatters #RallyForOurRights #WeEngage #PinkhouseDefenders