A protest was organized in Uptown Martinsville to bring awareness to several recent choices made by the Supreme Court, such as Roe V. Wade and immunity for presidents, with members of the local Democratic Committee participating in the event held at the Martinsville Henry County Heritage Center & Museum.
“Some of the decisions that the supreme court makes, they are not right,” said protestor James Brown. “The supreme court has made a remarkable number of amazing decisions this year, like the January 6 obstruction charges, immunity for former presidents. Because the court is loaded, we are getting these ridiculous decisions,” said Martinsville Henry County Democratic Committee chairman Melody Cartwright.
Suzanne Petty Fuhrmeister, who helped organize the protest, feels strongly about changing recent rulings, including Roe V. Wade.
“We are not in 1789. Evil wins when good men say nothing. The Supreme Court is not elected. We know that we can’t make them change their rulings, but when we protest what they’ve been doing, then we can get legislators to create laws,” said Fuhrmeister.
The group is hoping for a change to the Supreme Court and believes that it has overstepped in many areas.
That “the justices could even rule that climate change is a joke,” said Pritchard.
One hot-button issue was about reproductive rights.
“I’m particularly concerned about the Dobbs decisions, taking away women’s right to control their own bodies. I feel like that’s a healthcare decision that women should make. They reversed 50 years of women’s rights,” said Ellen Jessee. “It’s something I fought for in the ’70s, and I can’t believe I’m here fighting for it again.”
The safety of women’s health was a major concern for the group, with many saying they believe that abortions are a women’s decision.
“I had two friends who had pregnancy complications and were preparing to leave the state to have their lives saved,” said Ashley Pritchard. Although the pregnancies were wanted, “complications arose, the pregnancy wasn’t going to be viable. It’s hard. Nobody wants to be put in a situation where they have to decide to have an abortion. Nobody goes looking to get pregnant to have an abortion.”
According to online reports, abortion is legal in Virginia through the second trimester of pregnancy. After that, abortion is legal only in cases where three physicians certify that the continuation of the pregnancy will likely result in the death of the pregnant woman or will substantially and irremediably impair the mental or physical health of the pregnant woman.
“The government can’t force a dead man to give his heart to save my life, but they can now force me to provide a fetus with my entire body to keep it alive,” said Pritchard, adding the concept of ‘it’s a life,’ ignores the life of the mother.
Presidential immunity raised concerns about presidential accountability among protest members.
“I’m most afraid of their immunity ruling. Even though they say it’s limited, it’s based on someone else’s interpretation of what could be presidential powers,” said Fuhrmeister.
Chance Trevillian, vice-chairman of the Martinsville-Henry County Democratic Committee, voiced his personal concerns about the overturn of the Chevron doctrine, which he said will make it “much more difficult to uphold agency regulations. I’m quite worried about what the federal court will overturn in the various parts of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).”
Trevillian, who must use a wheelchair, said that his concern is about accessibility in the future.
“Cheaper not to put in a ramp than to keep a business as it is,” he said, and the recent rulings are a personal worry.
“I’m pro-business regulations,” said Pritchard who added that she sustainably manages her own local business, Charm Cat.
Cartwright also discussed the court ruling about punishments for the homeless. Her sister lives with disabilities, and she said it had been a “struggle” to ensure she was housed.
“I’m amazed by how many homeless young people there are, it breaks my heart,” she said.
Many of the protestors also had strong feelings about former president and now candidate Donald Trump.
“We have a great country, we want people to build it up not tear it down,” said Fuhrmeister.
“He wants to position himself as the Christian leader, but when you look at what he wants to take away, it’s not Christian,” said Cartwright.
