
City Councilor Victoria Pelletier, an organizer of the Rally, Addressed a Crowd of About 200 Protesting the Supreme Court’s Draft Opinion that Provides a Roadmap to Overturning Roe vs. Wade. That Announcement Could Come as Early as late June 2022.
“We want to be sure that Susan Collins hears us this afternoon,” said Jo DuBois as she led a crowd of protestors in chants at the start of a pro-abortion rally in the court yard in front of “No-Show” Collins (R) downtown Portland office – One Canal Plaza..
The 45-minute rally featured speakers with one common theme among them: organize yourselves and stay active.
“The Supreme Court is coming for many of us. That includes gay rights, birth control, and cancer screening. It will affect us all. Susan Collins does not represent us and should step aside from someone who does. We have to be organized. Organize your workplace,” urged Rose DuBois as the lead speaker at the rally.
Jean Lafferty, 79, said that protestors need to build a national movement to resist the conservative agenda of the right wing. “We will fight for the right to be fully recognized people. We need every one in this fight to be with us,” Lafferty is a long-time pro-abortion activist involved in womens’ liberation movements since before Roe v. Wade was enacted. (See below right photo of Lafferty).
Clare spoke on behalf of Emery Addams who could not attend because he had contracted COVID-19. In his absence, she read his statement that called for the building of a fighting, independent working class movement of unions, workers, community organzations and youth to fight to defend Roe v. Wde and expand access to abortion…..this movement must draw in sections of the labor movement and utilize union power and labor tactics including walkouts and strikes to win its demands.” Addams is a member of an independent socialist group.
A local, small business owner named David Aceto had a special message for the few men who attended the Rally. ‘WHERE ARE YOU MEN?” (See above right photo of Aceto).
Portland City Councilor for District 2 Victoria Pelletier who is also a Black activist, reminded protestors how they had showed up as part of the Black Lives Matter movement. “But the system hopes you will move on,” she said “The system is prepared for you to forget. Fight back every single day. Get involved in civil disobedience. Stop being nice,” she urged. “Build a network, fight this together.”
If you don’t believe that Collins (R) heard you this afternoon at the 1:00 pm rally in the plaza of her Portland office, you can always call her Washington, D.C. office: Her phone number there is: 202 – 224-2523. “That phone number is for when her office staff starts answering the phone again,” quipped Pelletier to approval from the enthusiastic protestors standing in the plaza.. The Collins offices are well-known for using only an answering machine to record calls during controversial times like these.
Collins (R) recent “No” to an upcoming effort by the Congress to codify pro-abortion into law elicited off the record unflattering comments – for someone who has always maintained she is pro-abortion. Lier, lier, she is and much more.to many attending the Rally.
The Rally was hosted by Maine Democratic Socialists of America.
For more background information on Senator Susan Collins (R) and Her Poor Representative of Mainers, please visit the following posts herein: January 1, 2018, December 7 and December 8, 2017 and February 22, 2018.
Please also visit post herein dated May 3, 2022 for information about the pro-abortion rally the day after the leak from the Supreme Court.