Blog 1

"Stop the Sham": Thousands Rally as Supreme Court Hears Biggest Abortion Case in a Generation

MARCH 03, 2016

 

From <http://www.democracynow.org/2016/3/3/stop_the_sham_thousands_rally_as>

 

The issue at hand is challenging a anti-choice law passed by Texas state legislature in 2013 which forces abortion clinics to have the same standards as a hospital, as well as, admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The argument of Whole Woman's Health is that this is only another way to restrict the choices of woman because they know that many clinics cannot maintain those standards. Moreover, the clinics may not have the standards as a hospital but they are still constantly being inspected to make sure they are safe. Strategies that this group used in their protest on March 2nd outside the Supreme Court were to have protestors dress in the color that identifies with the organization (bright purple, the official color of Whole Woman's Health) and they also had a chant "stop the sham." Strategies like these are what help an organization become stronger in their stance. Lastly, putting into perspective modern day social movements, covenant Rose Barnes explains how we are repeating ourselves in issues that were also dealt with before. Many of us believe that with one protest it is enough to keep change; however, if we continue to look the other way or be ignorant on matters then history will only repeat itself.

 

"ROSE BARNES-COVENANT: My name is Rose Barnes-Covenant, and I'm from Washington, D.C. Our generation has spent a lot of time thinking that progress has been made, and it's being taken from us. And if we don't stand up now, we're not going to have a choice. There are a lot of women here that did this work in the '70s, and I think my generation thinks this is old news. And now we're slowly seeing an erosion of our rights, where it's harder to fight if they take it piece by piece. And it's finally gotten to a point where people have to stand up. And if not, we'll just—we'll go back to the '60s"