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Since President Donald Trump assumed office last year, many women have taken to dressing as handmaids from the TV series and book "The Handmaid's Tale" to protest Trump's anti-choice agenda. (Photo: Carlos Lowry/Flickr/cc)
Resisting the Trump-Pence administration's anti-choice and anti-woman agenda, dozens of woman dressed as handmaids from the novel and TV series "The Handmaid's Tale" are planning to greet Vice President Mike Pence when he arrives in Philadelphia on Monday for a GOP fundraiser.
The white bonnets and red dresses and capes worn by the protesters will mimic those of handmaids in Hulu's dramatic series and Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian novel, in which women are forced to give birth to the children of powerful men.
"We just felt that the visual of the 'Handmaid's Tale' costumes, a society in which women in Gilead are stripped of their most basic rights and their humanity, was appropriate," organizer Samantha Goldman told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The protest comes two weeks after President Donald Trump named Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Kavanaugh has praised Justice William Rehnquist's dissent in the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which affirmed women's constitutional right to abortion care, and last year ruled against a young immigrant who pleaded with him and two other judges on an appeals panel to allow her to have an abortion.
During his 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump pledged that the end of Roe v. Wade "will happen" during his presidency.
Pence, denounced as a "vicious theocrat" by Refuse Fascism, has also been known as one of the most vehemently anti-choice politicians in Washington. As a congressman, he proposed multiple measures aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood and blocking patient care there. While serving as Indiana's governor, Pence signed eight anti-choice bills, including one that barred women from obtaining abortions in the case of fetal abnormalities.
"Pence is one of the most dangerous reactionary figures in modern history," wrote the group Refuse Fascism on its event website. "He is a key figure in ushering in a theocratic society right out of 'The Handmaid's Tale.' A Christian Fascist, he has made it his life mission to terrorize women and the LGBTQ community and people of color. It is only fitting that Pence be greeted with 100 women dressed as handmaids. A visual representation of Pence's end game of women totally stripped of their rights and humanity."
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Resisting the Trump-Pence administration's anti-choice and anti-woman agenda, dozens of woman dressed as handmaids from the novel and TV series "The Handmaid's Tale" are planning to greet Vice President Mike Pence when he arrives in Philadelphia on Monday for a GOP fundraiser.
The white bonnets and red dresses and capes worn by the protesters will mimic those of handmaids in Hulu's dramatic series and Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian novel, in which women are forced to give birth to the children of powerful men.
"We just felt that the visual of the 'Handmaid's Tale' costumes, a society in which women in Gilead are stripped of their most basic rights and their humanity, was appropriate," organizer Samantha Goldman told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The protest comes two weeks after President Donald Trump named Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Kavanaugh has praised Justice William Rehnquist's dissent in the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which affirmed women's constitutional right to abortion care, and last year ruled against a young immigrant who pleaded with him and two other judges on an appeals panel to allow her to have an abortion.
During his 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump pledged that the end of Roe v. Wade "will happen" during his presidency.
Pence, denounced as a "vicious theocrat" by Refuse Fascism, has also been known as one of the most vehemently anti-choice politicians in Washington. As a congressman, he proposed multiple measures aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood and blocking patient care there. While serving as Indiana's governor, Pence signed eight anti-choice bills, including one that barred women from obtaining abortions in the case of fetal abnormalities.
"Pence is one of the most dangerous reactionary figures in modern history," wrote the group Refuse Fascism on its event website. "He is a key figure in ushering in a theocratic society right out of 'The Handmaid's Tale.' A Christian Fascist, he has made it his life mission to terrorize women and the LGBTQ community and people of color. It is only fitting that Pence be greeted with 100 women dressed as handmaids. A visual representation of Pence's end game of women totally stripped of their rights and humanity."
Resisting the Trump-Pence administration's anti-choice and anti-woman agenda, dozens of woman dressed as handmaids from the novel and TV series "The Handmaid's Tale" are planning to greet Vice President Mike Pence when he arrives in Philadelphia on Monday for a GOP fundraiser.
The white bonnets and red dresses and capes worn by the protesters will mimic those of handmaids in Hulu's dramatic series and Margaret Atwood's 1985 dystopian novel, in which women are forced to give birth to the children of powerful men.
"We just felt that the visual of the 'Handmaid's Tale' costumes, a society in which women in Gilead are stripped of their most basic rights and their humanity, was appropriate," organizer Samantha Goldman told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The protest comes two weeks after President Donald Trump named Judge Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Kavanaugh has praised Justice William Rehnquist's dissent in the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which affirmed women's constitutional right to abortion care, and last year ruled against a young immigrant who pleaded with him and two other judges on an appeals panel to allow her to have an abortion.
During his 2016 campaign, President Donald Trump pledged that the end of Roe v. Wade "will happen" during his presidency.
Pence, denounced as a "vicious theocrat" by Refuse Fascism, has also been known as one of the most vehemently anti-choice politicians in Washington. As a congressman, he proposed multiple measures aimed at defunding Planned Parenthood and blocking patient care there. While serving as Indiana's governor, Pence signed eight anti-choice bills, including one that barred women from obtaining abortions in the case of fetal abnormalities.
"Pence is one of the most dangerous reactionary figures in modern history," wrote the group Refuse Fascism on its event website. "He is a key figure in ushering in a theocratic society right out of 'The Handmaid's Tale.' A Christian Fascist, he has made it his life mission to terrorize women and the LGBTQ community and people of color. It is only fitting that Pence be greeted with 100 women dressed as handmaids. A visual representation of Pence's end game of women totally stripped of their rights and humanity."