Are pro-choice groups being framed?
Congressional treatment of abortion rights groups not in line with what they really are
(Protestors gather outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday)
Around seven protestors gathered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on Wednesday to partake in their weekly protest about the Supreme Court decision. The town is the home of two Supreme Court justices—Brett Kavanaugh and John Roberts.
That protests have continued in the wake of such a landmark decision is not surprising. But the public and political depiction of these men and women from conservative lawmakers has been marked by demonization and vilification. Congressional members have described them as terrorists.
Lacie Wooten-Holway, a resident in the community, began the protests earlier this year. Afterward, antiabortion militants harassed her with threats of sexual assault, violence and other forms of punishment for standing up for her beliefs, according to the protestors I spoke to in Wednesday’s march.
The organization chiefly responsible for holding these marches is Shutdown D.C., a liberal advocacy group that protests on various causes. Nikki Enfield, who was at Wednesday’s protest, said the attendance at these events has varied from as small as it was this week to as many as hundreds.
One evening they were met with 53 cops in bullet-proof vests with two canine units. This for a group that holds placards, blows bubble guns and chants peaceful songs.
Historically, the violence within the abortion debate has come from the antiabortion side. That side murdered a number of doctors in the 1990s and later. Since Roe, countless clinics have been defaced, burned and attacked.
That hasn’t stopped politicians from presenting the pro-choice side as newly violent. Two groups—Ruth Sent Us and Jane’s Revenge—have been cast as the alternative of the Army of God and other antiabortion groups linked to terrorism.
From what people at the protest told me, Ruth Sent Us is a collection of seven to eight people who focus on issues that affect people of color and those of the LGBTQ community. Most had never heard of Jane’s Revenge at all, and some in online forums have speculated that it is an elaborate attempt from antiabortion people to frame abortion rights groups by attacking their own facilities and making it appear as if it was the other side.
Sen. Chuck Grassley sent a letter to FBI director Christopher Wray pertaining to the two groups. The letter characterized the congressional treatment of peaceful protestors.
Jane’s Revenge has a blog that monitors attacks on crisis pregnancy centers. But it’s unlike any other pro-choice group I’ve seen that has a digital presence. Most groups on our side invest a decent amount of money in web design. And most groups are driven by women, who historically have been less likely to commit violence within this debate.
I’ll have more to report on this as I go forward. But that’s the information I’ve gathered thus far.