Three activists with the Austin-based abortion group Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights stripped down to their underwear during Pastor Joel Osteen’s church service on Sunday.
During the service at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, the three women stood up and shouted “my body, my choice” and “overturn Roe, hell no!” while stripping out of their clothes.
Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights posted a video of the protest on Twitter and TikTok.
Pastor Osteen had just finished leading a prayer and congregants were beginning to take their seats at the Lakewood Church when one woman stood up, pulled off her dress and shouted: “It’s my body, my f***ing choice”.
The video posted on Twitter showed two other women soon standing up, removing their clothes and shouting slogans.
The activists decided to protest inside the megachurch in Texas because, they said, anti-abortion activists never have any issue protesting against women at their safe spaces – like doctors’ offices and clinics.
“Christians are not afraid to bother us at health care clinics, at doctors’ offices [where we’re] trying to get essential health care so why the f*** wouldn’t we bother you in your own home where the laws are coming from,” said one of the activists.
One of the activists, Julianne D’Eredita, told KPRC 2: “Joel Osteen has an international audience and silence is violence when it comes to things like these. We have a very unprecedented and very short amount of time to garner the attention that we need to get millions of people on the streets, millions of people doing actions like we were today.”
Pastor Osteen has not reacted to the protest.
The church has, meanwhile, removed the live stream of the service during which the protestors interrupted.
The activists were escorted outside the church but they continued their demonstration as more members joined them with placards reading “forced motherhood is female enslavement” and “abortion on demand & without apology”.
The three activists received encouragement and praise on social media. One TikTok user wrote: “It takes so much courage to [do] that. Thank you.”
Another user wrote: “Go get them, ladies.”
The protest was in response to a draft decision leaked in May suggesting the Supreme Court was aiming to overturn Roe v Wade later this year. Five of the nine Supreme Court justices agreed with the decision authored by Justice Samuel Alito, according to leaked documents.
The news of the likely overturning of the landmark 1973 ruling has set off protests across the country.
