Abortion advocates slam headline encouraging people to make ‘viral’ protest signs after Roe overturned

The Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling that legalised abortion in the United States nearly 50 years ago. Now, a headline calling on readers to design a “viral protest sign” has circulated online, and critics are calling out the publication for minimising the overturning of Roe v Wade.

On 5 May, American business magazine Fast Company published an article titled “Furious about the fall of Roe v Wade? Here’s how to design a protest sign that goes viral” after the Supreme Court’s initial draft opinion was leaked last month. The article provided a list of instructions for readers on how to design a protest poster that goes “viral”, such as choosing a bold sign color or thinking about how the design “will live on social media.”

However, now that SCOTUS has officially ended constitutional protections for abortion, the internet is expressing outrage over the headline for being tone-deaf, after millions of Americans could potentially lose access to abortion.

It all began when Slate writer Christina Cauterucci shared a screenshot of the Fast Company article with the caption, “We are absolutely doomed.” Her tweet received more than 40,000 likes and nearly 4,000 retweets from Twitter users echoing a similar sentiment: that social media and content culture has gone too far.

“Rights being stripped from folks is temporary, poster clout is forever,” replied one Twitter user.

“​​Related article: Vision Boarding Your Way To Human Rights,” joked another person.

“Society is temporary but Instagram likes are forever,” a third user said.

The Supreme Court ruling, which was issued on 24 June, marks a stark reversal of abortion rights protections throughout the country. Women could now be forced to carry pregnancies to term or travel hundreds of miles to seek care in states or countries where it is protected.

The latest decision will leave it up to states to determine whether to ban abortion, which will quickly become criminalised or effectively outlawed in 13 states with “trigger” laws.

“You’re telling me we can’t influence our way out of this?” tweeted podcaster Marissa Payne.

“Sure women may have lost rights, but think of the content,” another Twitter user jokingly said.

One user captured the irony of the moment when they tweeted, “Can we have our rights protected? America: ‘Best we can do is a viral sign.’”

The overturning of Roe v Wade comes after the Supreme Court’s six conservative justices ruled a 6-3 decision on Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization in favour of a Mississippi law, which seeks to outlaw abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. As a result, the court has also overturned key precedents established by the 1973 decision in Roe v Wade as well as an affirming decision in 1992’s Planned Parenthood v Casey.

Since the decision was announced earlier this morning, Americans have reacted with outrage, with gathering outside the Supreme Court in Washington where the ruling was handed down. Both pro-choice and pro-life groups have begun protesting outside the building, while Democratic politicians have condemned the decision.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the decision a “step backward” for womens rights and human rights.

“Most Americans believe the decision to have a child is one of the most sacred decisions there is, and that such decisions should remain between patients and their doctors,” she wrote in a statement shared to social media. “Today’s Supreme Court opinion will live in infamy as a step backward for women’s rights and human rights.”

Meanwhile, former First Lady Michelle Obama expressed her heartbreak over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade.

“I am heartbroken today. I am heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their bodies,” she wrote. “I am heartbroken that we may now be destined to learn the painful lessons of a time before Roe was made law of the land - a time when women risked losing their lives getting illegal abortions.

“A time when the government denied women control over their reproductive functions, forced them to move forward with pregnancies they didn’t want, and then abandoned them once their babies were born.

“That is what our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived through, and now here we are again.”

Follow along for live updates from the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v Wade here.

You can find a list of abortion funds and pro-choice organisations to donate to and support here.