“Roe Roe Roe your vote,” “I am an object,” “We won’t go back,” and “Why make it harder?” are some of the messages that can be seen on T shirts in an art installation by the Unitarian Universalist Society in Vineyard Haven to make a public statement about their stance on abortion.
Spearheaded by Rita Brown, president of the congregation, members of the church hosted T shirt making, the decorated shirts hung on a clothesline to advocate for reproductive rights in light of the SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade earlier this summer. Brown tells The Times the idea came from one of the church’s retired ministers, who saw another congregation doing a similar event. She said she thinks it is a great way to “live [their] values out loud.”
Brown recalled that the idea quickly gained support from within the congregation, saying of about 100 members, from 96 years old to far younger, all were in support of the event. Curious about the male response, Brown noted that when presenting the idea to the congregation, the first response she got was from a man who could not be on-Island when it took place but bought three T shirts for other members to use. Erin Conway, a 58-year-old mother who attended the event Thursday, added her opinion on the importance of male support, saying, “Until they can stand for us, we’re doomed.”
One male who definitely stands for these women is the Rev. Robert M. Hardies, interim pastor at the church, who gave his thoughts about the event as a male in a respected position within the congregation. “As Unitarian Universalists, we are committed to the inherent worth and dignity of every person … to deny women access to abortion and reproductive health services is to deprive them of the inherent reproductive healthcare that they need,” he said. Hardies called reproductive rights “an important component of gender equity for women.” He added, “So, for us, this is an issue of faith. And you often hear faith voices on the other side of this issue, but as people of faith, we are really committed to reproductive justice.”
While two beautiful beach days may have deterred a big crowd from attending the event hosted on July 28 and 30, according to church members, the message on the shirts caught the attention of some passersby. Included in this was a family with two little girls riding bikes, one of them pausing for a minute to watch the shirts being clipped to the clothesline — a telling and impactful sight on its own. Additionally, two moms walked past the event and asked if the church was selling the shirts, to which members of the church explained that they were “trying to sell the message.”
In a conversation with Brown and Conway, the two discussed how it felt to carry out the event. “It’s important for people to be courageous enough to take a stand on something that’s not popular, or something that is … We have a lot of conservative people on this Island, we’re not all liberals, as much as we like to think we are, so we hope this message goes to people who need to see it,” Brown said.
Conway added to that comment, saying, “It starts conversations …We need to start talking about this. It’s not a women’s issue, it’s all of our issue. And the people it’s going to affect the most are the poorest of the poor.”
Brown then explained that it is going to be increasingly difficult for individuals in poor communities to get an abortion “if they want one,” and to “make choices for their family,” as Conway put it. The conversation shifted to issues of pro-life arguments, with Brown saying that those who push pro-life “only want to talk about it while the baby is in the womb, and make sure it doesn’t get aborted. But once the child is born, then what happens? … Too many kids are up in the foster care system.”
As a mother of four, with three girls and one boy, spanning the ages of 21 to 28, Conway told The Times she recognizes this time of post-Roe could have “profound implications” for people like her kids, who are in an age where pregnancy can be especially common. But Conway adds, “Or not, because they are going to be able to have their abortion tourism and go wherever they need to. That’s a sad term, ‘abortion tourism’; when I’m hearing that I know everything has gone wrong.”
The church’s clothesline, specifically using coathangers to hang up the shirts to be displayed, is no random choice, as it embodies a transition into post-Roe time and, according to a press release for the event, “serves as a symbol of the reproductive rights movement and a reminder of the gruesome pre-Roe era.” The coat hanger is reminiscent of the progress made to outgrow a fearful and dangerous time for women, but with recent SCOTUS action, it is becoming a call to action for the need for justice again, to build back the progress that was torn away.
Shame on you UU!
I too was once a man trapped in a woman’s body—then I was born.
I too once believed in Communism.
I now believe in freedom.
Does andrew?
Mr Hess, you are all over the map. No one understands what you mean and you dont appear to have any ideological convictions of any kind. You make puerile comments on every post and they are insubstantial, rickety fanciful and chimerical. At least take a position on something. BTW I never believed in Communism and have always believed in Freedom.
andy—So says the soviet citizen.
You say you believe in freedom ?
Freedom to choose your spouse?
Freedom to choose if you want to have a child?
Freedom to change your gender?
Freedom to have any kind of sexual relationship in the privacy of
your home with a consenting adult?
Freedom to pay for any kind of sexual relationship with a
consenting adult?
Freedom to vote even if you happened to be born on the bayou in
Louisiana and never got a birth certificate?
Freedom to apply for asylum at the U.S border after risking your
life and the lives of your family to get there in the hope of a better life ?
Freedom to drive while black?
Freedom to smoke marijuana?
Freedom to send your kids to school and not worry they will be
murdered by some nut job with a weapon of war?
Freedom to raise your children in the Muslim or Jewish faith and
not have them be forced to recite “the lord’s prayer” in public
schools ?
I don’t think you have any idea as to what the word means, andy.
andy–apparently you don’t know what a man is.
But that’s a really good one liner… even if the article is not about trans people.
The commentors wouldn’t be so snarky if it was their bodies under attack.
Interesting how many pro-choice women tell men that this is strictly a woman’s issue and men aren’t entitled to have an opinion. And then they change their tune when they realize that men can vote. And they may need our votes some day. Perhaps they should practice the inclusion that they preach and try to build some consensus. Even if it includes, God forbid, men. I suggest they try to separate some of the anti-male bias from their desire to further their pro-choice agenda. I think they may be more successful.
Your comment perfectly illustrates why it is necessary for women to fight for their reproductive and healthcare rights.
Hi Mathias. I think you missed my point. Try fighting for pro-choice rights with men as your allies and not your enemies. I agree with most of the slogans. But pushing men aside and making this solely a women’s issue does you no favors in trying to garner support for the legislative victories that will be needed for pro-choice legislation. This battle will need lots of support from everyone.
There are certainly many men who care about the rights of women and are fighting alongside them. We need no invitation to do so. On the other hand, those making the legislative decisions regarding reproductive rights for women are largely men. If women are not given a say, then they have to fight. I’ve seen nothing that indicates that men are in any way barred from fighting alongside them. Who is saying that men shouldn’t be part of this fight?
Matthews, to take a mans post and tell us it illustrates something without making your own case in any descriptive fashion is a cheap trick of narration but with no underlying substance. I could turn around and say something like ”your post perfectly illustrates why Mr Jones is correct”
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