- A Students for Life of America (SFLA) group gathered outside the district office of self-proclaimed pro-life Democrat Sen. Bob Casey whose voting record has heavily aligned with pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL.
- The SFLA group’s sidewalk chalk supporting Judge Amy Coney Barrett was hosed down by building staff of the Philadelphia property where Casey’s district office is housed. SFLA groups also faced backlash that turned violent in response to their counter demonstrations held in Washington D.C. during the Women’s March on Oct. 17.
- SFLA is in full support of Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. However, Barrett did not say whether her votes would align with those of late Justice Anton Scalia, a proponent for pro-life views.
A Students for Life of America (SFLA) group gathered in Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 23 for a rally outside Pennsylvania Democrat Senator Casey’s district office urging him to vote in support of the appointment of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
“We’re here today for our Justice for Life Tour,” SFLA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator Liana Hollendonner told Daily Caller News Foundation. “We specifically chose senators who claim to be pro-life, but their voting record doesn’t reflect that.”
The SFLA group of about two dozen people chanted “fill that seat!” outside the district offices of Casey, a self-proclaimed pro-life Democrat. Casey has proven to be a proponent for abortion rights as his votes have aligned with Planned Parenthood 75% of his time in the Senate since 2011, according to Politico. (RELATED: OPINION — The Surrender Of Pro-Life Democrats)
Casey released a statement on Sept. 23 in response to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Barrett to the Supreme Court writing, “I cannot support a Supreme Court nominee who would rip health care away from tens of millions, undermine the rights of workers and do the bidding of large corporations.”
Barrett “just embodies true feminism, being a mom and being successful in her chosen career,” Hollendonner told DCNF. “Judge Amy’s confirmation to Supreme Court is, I think, in itself just showing the victory of first wave and second wave feminism in our country, and it should be a moment that every woman across America celebrates,” said SFLA’s President, Kristan Hawkins, in an interview with DCNF.
The SFLA group wrote in sidewalk chalk statements supporting Barrett along with various pro-life sentiments but were told the sidewalk outside of 2000 Market St. — which houses the office suite of Casey — was private property. A security staff member for the building demanded the SFLA group stop chalking, explaining that the group was defacing “private property.”
Students write statements supporting Amy Coney Barrett in sidewalk chalk outside PA Senator Casey’s Philadelphia Office on Oct. 23. (Provided-Kevin Feliciano / Students for Life of America)
The Philadelphia’s Civil Affairs Unit confirmed that the sidewalk area in front of the Market St. building was public property, according to Hollendonner who called the Civil Affairs Unit.
The Civil Affairs Unit further stated that the police would give the same explanation to the building’s staff if they were to call 911, Hollendonner said.
The building staff of 2000 Market St. hosed down the SFLA group’s sidewalk chalk once the rally had finished.
A building staff member hoses down Students for Life of America group’s sidewalk chalk statements supporting Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 23. (Provided-Kevin Feliciano / Students for Life of America)
SFLA also gathered in other key swing states on Oct. 23 including Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Minnesota, North Carolina, Colorado and Washington where student groups rallied outside the office of each state’s respective senator to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
“Our goal this week has been to go out into the states and just show the U.S. Senate this pro-life generation wants them to do their job and confirm Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court,” Hawkins told DCNF.
This weekend’s Justice for Life Tour comes after SFLA’s counter demonstration at the Women’s March in Washington D.C. last Saturday where the group faced much hostility, according to Hawkins.
“The Democrats have tried very hard to make Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation about the future of Obamacare, but what it’s really about is the future of abortion law in our country and that is why we saw what we saw just this past Saturday at the Women’s March and the violence against our team members and the threats of violence,” Hawkins said in an interview with DCNF.
Barrett did not commit to a position on overturning abortion precedent like Roe v. Wade, but emphasized before the Senate Judiciary Committee that although the late Justice Anton Scalia was a mentor of hers and who held a pro-life position on the court, this did not mean she would judge the same as him.
“For textualism, the judge approaches the text as it was written with the meaning it had at the time and doesn’t infuse their own meaning into it,” Barrett said during her nomination hearing. “But I want to be careful to say if I am confirmed, you would not be getting Justice Scalia. You would be getting Justice Barrett. And that is so because originalists don’t always agree. And neither do textualists,” she said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate will hold a vote to confirm Barrett to the Supreme Court on Monday, Oct. 26.
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