Pro-abortion activists call for protests at churches on Mother's Day after Supreme Court draft leak
A pro-abortion group is threatening and urging others to disrupt services at Catholic and Evangelical churches this weekend as the fallout from this week's leaking of an initial draft opinion that could overturn the U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade continues.
Ruth Sent Us, which describes itself as a group working to “force accountability using a diversity of tactics” from the “6-3 extremist Supreme Court,” is urging abortion supporters to “stand at or in a local Catholic Church Sun May 8" as a show of support for Supreme Court precedent that has legalized abortion nationwide.
A video accompanying a May 3 tweet containing a call to action shows pro-abortion protesters dressed in Handmaid’s Tale costumes chanting “abortion on demand and without apology” as they walk through a Catholic Church as organ music plays in the background.
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Whether you’re a “Catholic for Choice”, ex-Catholic, of other or no faith, recognize that six extremist Catholics set out to overturn Roe. Stand at or in a local Catholic Church Sun May 8. #WarOnWomen#MothersDayStrikepic.twitter.com/v2vtpd12Gp
— Ruth Sent Us ???? (@RuthSentUs) May 3, 2022
“Whether you’re a ‘Catholic for Choice,’ ex-Catholic, of other or no faith, recognize that six extremist Catholics set out to overturn Roe,” the group warned as it promoted the hashtag #MothersDayStrike.
The push for protests at Catholic masses comes after Politico published a leaked draft opinion regarding the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. According to the leaked initial draft, five of the nine Supreme Court justices voted to uphold a Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks gestation.
The initial draft opinion for Dobbs, which is not final and could change, did not receive the support of “six extremist Catholics.” While opinion author, Justice Samuel Alito, is Catholic and Catholic Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas also backed the draft opinion, the fifth justice who supported the draft opinion, Neil Gorsuch, is Episcopalian.
Although Chief Justice John Roberts is Catholic and part of what Ruth Sent Us describes as the “6-3 extremist Supreme Court,” he did not sign onto the draft opinion.
Another video posted Tuesday by Ruth Sent Us featured protesters dressed in Handmaid’s Tale outfits declaring: “For 2000 years, the Catholic Church has been an institution for the enslavement of women.”
In the tweet, the group declared: “This is what Mother’s Day should look like” in “Catholic and Evangelical Churches nationwide.”
The Catholic Church is among the most outspoken critics of abortion, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines abortion as “gravely contrary to the moral law.”
There are calls for a #MothersDayStrike. We support it, along with @StrikeForChoice who’s planning a day of walk-outs on Thu May 12. #DefendRoe
— Ruth Sent Us ???? (@RuthSentUs) May 3, 2022
This is what Mother’s Day should look like. Catholic and Evangelical Churches nationwide: pic.twitter.com/BxvGhBGodn
The group CatholicVote is urging Catholic parishes across the U.S. to take the threat of disruption seriously.
In a statement, CatholicVote Communications Director Joshua Mercer noted that the organization "might have blown off the words of these activists at empty threats" in past years.
“But given the recent rash of very real attacks on Catholic statues and churches, it makes sense to be cautious,” he added.
Mercer alleged a pattern of anti-Catholicism among the Ruth Sent Us activists.
“If they wanted, they could have just focused on the issue of abortion,” he said, recalling their characterization of several Supreme Court justices as “extremist Catholics.”
“Instead they chose to highlight the Catholic faith of some of the pro-life justices.”
He warned Catholic churches to “keep your eyes open," calling the activists “ruthless people" who are "looking for a confrontation.”
As a cause for concern, Mercer cited a TikTok post documenting a video of activists “marching toward the doors of a Catholic Church” accompanied by the caption, “Sometimes a******s need a beating."
The pro-abortion activism of Ruth Sent Us extends beyond their call for a #MothersDayStrike.
The group plans to hold an event titled “Walk-by Wednesday” outside “the homes of the six extremist justices” next Wednesday to pressure them to reverse their opinion before the final ruling is published.
A map on their website identifies the streets that the six Republican-appointed justices live on but does not give their exact addresses.
Mercer expressed concern about the safety of the Supreme Court justices going forward.
“We’re talking about human beings with children," he said.
Ruth Sent Us derives its name from the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who consistently voted to strike down abortion restrictions as unconstitutional throughout her 27 years on the bench.
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent her entire life moving the needle towards justice for all,” the group maintained. “She believed, and we believe that women deserve trust, black lives matter, love is love, and no human is illegal.”
While Ginsburg developed a consistently pro-abortion voting record on the Supreme Court, she also expressed concern that the Roe decision short-circuited the democratic process.
As Alito explained in his draft opinion in the Dobbs case, Ginsburg suggested in a speech at New York University School of Law in 1993 that the 1973 Supreme Court decision may have “halted a political process,” “prolonged divisiveness” and “deferred stable settlement of the issue” through the legislatures.
Ruth Sent Us is just one pro-abortion advocacy group kicking its activism into high gear following the leak of the draft Dobbs opinion.
The group Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights has developed plans for a “Week of Action” next week. The week will kick off Sunday with a campaign to “post videos on social media,” asserting that “motherhood should be a choice." The campaign calls for a nationwide effort to “rally outside of churches.”
WE MUST NOT LET WOMAN-HATING FASCISTS like Amy Coney Barret, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh & Thomas decide the fate of half of humanity. #RoeVWade
— Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights (@riseup4abortion) May 3, 2022
WOMEN ARE NOT INCUBATORS!
Abortion On Demand & Without Apology!
Rise Up & Wear #Green4Abortion during the week of resistance May 8-14 pic.twitter.com/ZhwTlLram5
Additional plans for the week include a “chalk your town” initiative. On Monday, activists are called to “print and post posters," while a “green-out” featuring “art installations and murals” is slated for Tuesday. The group wants “mass banner drops” Wednesday and a “national student walk-out” Thursday.
The week will conclude with “nationwide die-ins” on Friday and “mass protests” on Saturday, May 14.
The group encouraged supporters to “wear #Green4Abortion during the week of resistance.”
A decision in the Dobbs case is expected by the end of June. If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the issue will be decided on a state-by-state basis.
Specifically, 21 states will have more restrictive abortion laws and, in some cases, will completely ban the procedure, 16 states will see no changes in their abortion laws as they have codified the right to abortion in state law and 10 additional states will see no immediate changes in their abortion laws.
Voters in three states may have the chance to amend their state’s abortion laws at the ballot box in the near future.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
