A video of a protester outraged at the Democrats for fundraising off the Supreme Court striking down Roe v Wade has gone viral after she said “my rights shouldn’t be a fundraising point”.
Protesters disappointed after the court’s ruling have also turned their ire on Democratic Party, blasting them for being quick to call for donations after the decision while not managing for decades to codify Roe provisions into law.
Thousands have taken to the streets since Friday to protest the ruling.
One protester, Zoe Warren, told MSNBC that her rights as a woman “should not be a fundraising point for the Democrats” and attacked President Joe Biden’s campaign messaging.
The Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights activist claimed to have received a text message stating it was her “responsibility to then rush $15 to the Democratic national party”.
“And I thought that was absolutely outrageous because my rights should not be a fundraising point for them or a campaigning point,” she told the interviewer.
“They have had multiple opportunities to codify Roe into law over the past 20, 30, 40, 50 years and they haven’t done it. And if they’re gonna keep campaigning on this point, they should actually do something about it.”
The video of Ms Warren has received more than five million views.
“We need to get as many people to the polls as possible to vote for more progressive Democrats,” Ms Warren said, referring to the midterms.
“We need to get the old, white Democrats out of office and put in new younger people who actually defend the rights of women and people all over this country,” she added. “And then when it comes to midterms, we need to make sure that we have those same people who voted for the progressive people in the primaries coming back to the midterms and voting again and making sure that these more progressive Democrats get into office and can actually make the change that we need.”
Samantha Goldman said in a statement that Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights is “so proud that Zoe’s message that we demand the federal government restore legal abortion on demand nationwide has been seen and heard by so many,” Newsweek reported.
“The highest court in the land has essentially stripped women and girls of our legal status as full human beings and declared we are nothing more than incubators,” Ms Goldman added.
“As Jules, another student organizer made clear in the segment; right now the lives of women and girls, of LGBTQ people, are in our hands,” she said in reference to Julianne D’Eredita who appeared alongside Ms Warren in the MSNBC segment.
“Zoe is right that we cannot listen to those who claim that this atrocity can be solved by waiting to vote in November’s elections,” the statement continued. “Roe v Wade itself was the result of mass struggle in the streets. And across Latin America, women are decriminalizing abortion by waging fierce struggle in the streets! We must Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights NOW to make clear to those in power that we will sooner bring the gears of society to a grinding halt through mass nonviolent resistance than to accept the horror of forced motherhood.”
Joe Biden said after the Supreme Court decision: “This fall, Roe is on the ballot.”
Several social media users have also vented their anger, issued scathing attacks and called out Democrat leaders, including ex-president Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after they both issued statements on the ruling.
Some users also attacked Ms Pelosi for endorsing anti-abortion and pro-gun Democrat Henry Cuellar.
Others cited the historic precedent of presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, ignoring the Supreme Court on matters that created a partisan divide and suggested the Democratic leadership should take a similar approach.
Progressives within the Democratic party, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have also tweeted about how Democrats can “do more”.
Experts have weighed in over how the ruling might impact voter turnout and the Democratic party in the fall this year.
Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democrat strategist, was quoted as saying by The Guardian that “in states that Democrats do well generally, this will motivate turnout [of voters in the fall]. In states where they do not do well, it will also motivate turnout – but not for the Democrats”.
He added: “The issue is purple states, like Michigan, Georgia and Nevada, where you have equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.”
On Friday, Democrat Elizabeth Warren told media that she was “spitting mad” over the Supreme Court overturning Roe and insisted that the ruling was not what the US wants.
