The Tell Them Tuesday weekly protests finally got on TV.
Thirty protestors showed up Tuesday, along with two local camera crews. At the luncheon afterwards several of us decided to go to Columbia on Thursday for the rally at the State House sponsored by WREN, the Womens Rights and Empowerment Network in South Carolina. Legislative committee meetings to discuss further restrictions on abortion in South Carolina were to hold hearings to “listen to” anyone who wished to testify for two minutes.
I estimate there were about three hundred people there. A hundred inside, a hundred waiting to get inside, and another hundred listening to speeches given on the steps behind the Capitol building.
I wrote a two-minute speech, but by the time we drove a hundred miles, parked, at arrived at the scene, it was already 11:30 AM and the line to get in was longer than a top attraction at Disney World in Florida. It was hotter, too: 97 degrees F.
Even before we got in line, a photographer asked to take a picture of my sign which read ENJOY DEMOCRACY WHILE IT LASTS on one side and REPUBLICANS ARE ERODING DEMOCRACY on the other side. I wanted to bring my anti-abortion sign which read SOON A WOMAN LIVING IN TEXAS WILL HAVE TO GO TO MEXICO [one side] TO HAVE A SAFE AND LEGAL ABORTION [other side]. Unfortunately, the young woman who held my sign at the previous Tuesday rally forgot to return it to me.
The hotter it got, the slower the line moved. No one could enter until a couple of those inside who finally had a chance to speak, exited the building. I doubted I would even get inside, nonetheless have a chance to say anything.
Most, but not all of us in line, were pro-choice. A few who weren’t, were polite enough as least to just stand quietly holding signs advocating the sanctity of life. However, one large woman, who looked like she was built like a football fullback, held a sign saying BOTH LIVES MATTER. She never grew tired of trying to convince the rest of us of all the reasons abortion should be illegal. All of us agreed it was futile to argue with her. Not all of us were able resist doing so. Someone commented she was “articulating” pro-life arguments. I said that was putting it euphemistically. It was more like she was in a verbal boxing match, hearing nothing, but throwing out arguments like punches trying to score a knockout blow.
I began to wonder if my two-minute talk would be any more effective trying to convince the committee of presumably conservative legislators inside, that abortion should remain legal and safe. If indeed, I would even get inside.
It was then that another Tell Them Tuesday protestor from Greenville told me I would be able to speak at the nearby outdoor rally. I decided to leave the line and give that a try. My brief speech was more suited to “preach to the choir” than to change the minds of obstinate Republican legislators. As I approached the rear of the Capitol, I felt a vague sense of regret. In 2020 I ran to be a SC State Representative inside the very building I was approaching. If I had been elected, at least I would have been able to vote to keep abortion legal. I will always be grateful that Planned Parenthood donated to my campaign. Now it is my turn to donate to Planned Parenthood, in hopes they will help other pro-choice candidates become elected.
All I could do now, was listen to the other speakers in the heat until I finally got a turn. I was pleased someone brought those of us waiting to speak, a bottle of cold water. One woman, a doctor, warned that if laws restricting abortions are passed, a patient might die because a doctor can’t always be certain that an abortion is necessary to save a woman’s life. And if he performs one and it was deemed by others it was not necessary, he could lose his license and face legal consequences. A young woman who spoke just before me told me (and later the audience) that she was so mad, she decided to run for office in 2024. She also told me that she had her tubes tide, but if she ever got pregnant and couldn’t get an abortion she could die. She looked straight at me and said, “I’m too young to die.”
It was an hour before I had a chance to speak. I think they let me in under the wire because I was the only man speaking (at least while I was there.) I was two hours past needing a strong dose of caffeine. I was hot, over-heated, and tired, and frankly nervous. Would I screw up or muddle through? Fortunately, my delivery was pretty good, as the crowd cheered several times. Relieved I had done well, I felt it was time to leave. I just hope I was able to make a difference.
Here is what I said:
On Friday June 24th—a day that will live in infamy—The Extreme Court of the United States, overturned Roe v. Wade. Some people refer to the high court as SCOTUS. I prefer to call it SCROTUM—Supreme Court Republicans Out To Unleash Mayhem. The high court is supposed to protect the rights of the minority from the majority. Their horrendous decision takes away the right to have control over our own bodies—in spite of the fact the majority of Americans want to uphold those rights.
This decision is nothing more than a War on Women. Yet as a man, I am infuriated. No man is free, unless all men are free. And no man has freedom, unless all women have freedom. Freedom for everybody, means just that— freedom for every body.
I am outraged because this despicable decision violates Freedom of Religion. The Republican Party has become the American Taliban—imposing their religious dogma on everyone else, regardless of our own personal religious beliefs.
As a professor who taught Developmental Psychology, I know it takes a leap of religious faith to construe that a one-celled zygote, or a multi-celled blastocyst; or even a tiny developing embryo is a human being. If someone sincerely believes that, fine. If you believe abortion is wrong—don’t have one! But do not impose your religious beliefs on others who face this personal decision. This is our Country, not your Church.
Since the Extreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, now is the time to overturn the Extreme Court. To do this, we must vote Democratic this November so Joe Biden can add four new seats to the Supreme Court—to the repair the Court and reverse this horrible ruling that destroys our liberty.
Before driving back to Greenville, the friend I drove with and I, stopped to get a burger and a cold soda. It was only then that I realized I was so tired I forgot my sign and left it behind the capitol building where I spoke. We agreed it would be too much of as hassle to try to retrieve it. I can afford to lose a sign, but we can’t afford to lose our democracy. Nor can we afford to lose the freedoms the Supreme Court was supposed to protect.