WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Today, on the 49th—and potentially last—anniversary of Roe v. Wade, activists in support of abortion access staged a flash mob of music and dance on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. The gathering, Act for Abortion, happened as the Court prepared to rule on landmark abortion cases in Texas and Mississippi, with dire implications for the future of reproductive freedom in this country. “The majority of Americans support the right to safe and legal abortion,” say the event organizers. “Our freedom is on the line, and we intend to show up for bodily autonomy and the will of the American people.”
The action—supported by a range of reproductive rights and social justice organizations—featured approximately 50 activists and performers, including DJs, dancers, drummers, and appearances by the Resistance Revival Chorus, Reverend Vince Anderson and Meah Pace, Thank God For Abortion, as well as a prayer led by Reverend Dr. Jacqui Lewis of Middle Church.
The flash mob wore accents of gold and green, both chosen for symbolic reasons: The color gold represents a 50th anniversary—an anniversary that is uncertain for Roe v. Wade. And the color green is an homage to the Green Wave reproductive rights movement in Latin America, in which activists have successfully helped advance abortion access.
Act for Abortion also includes a social media campaign providing tangible steps all Americans can take to protect abortion access. The action steps include:
- Donating to abortion funds, via abortionfunds.org
- Saving independent clinics, via keepourclinics.org
- Sharing information about abortion pills, via shareabortionpill.info
- Encouraging the passage of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA)
- Claiming space for people of faith in the movement, via SacredDignity.org
“Let’s take this moment to pray for abortion. We must not continue to let extremist Christians claim God only for themselves when statistics show the majority of us who identify as faithful are also pro abortion access. We who believe in God have had and will continue to have abortions, and also provide abortions because a core tenet of our faith is compassionate care for our neighbors,” says organizer Viva Ruiz of Thank God For Abortion. “The Green Wave/La Ola Verde movement in Central and South America has shown us that people across gender, generation, faith, race and class can mass-mobilize for abortion rights, and win. We must follow them there.”
“Overturning Roe and criminalizing abortion is monstrous, anti-family, anti-child, anti-woman, and a human rights violation for all people who can get pregnant,” said fellow organizer Sarah Sophie Flicker, one of the organizers of the original Women’s March. “We come together, with joy and unity, to say that we stand on the side of morality, and that abortion is normal and a right which must be accessible to all.”
“When we control our bodies, we control our futures. I know the future of abortion access in this country is uncertain and that at just 21 years old there is a chance I will have fewer freedoms and protections than my mother did,” said organizer Deja Foxx, founder of Gen Z Girl Gang and a student at Columbia University. “But on the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I am celebrating the people who fought before me, for me. I honor those who opened doors and championed choice and invite all to join us in the fight ahead.”
Members of the organizing team have collaborated in the past on highly successful and visible national campaigns, including Joy To the Polls, Women’s March, and For Freedoms‘ 50 State Initiative.
This is a completely unbranded action. However, the groups supporting thus far include: Abortion Access Fund, Amplifier, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Equality Now, For Freedoms, Gays Against Guns, The Meteor, Middle Church, National Women’s Law Center, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, The Resistance Revival Chorus, Shout Your Abortion, Thank God For Abortion, Ultraviolet, Wide Awakes, The Women’s Foundation of California, Women’s March, Working Families Party, and a wide coalition of Musicians, DJs, Dancers, Nightlife Performers, and Visual Artists.
For more information and interview requests, please contact: [email protected], 917-410-0716.
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