'I can't stand up in front of this flag': Outagamie County Board member protests abortion ban by sitting down during Pledge of Allegiance
APPLETON - In a solo act of defiance an Outagamie County Board member sat down during the Pledge of Allegiance at Tuesday's meeting to protest the loss of "women's bodily autonomy" following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
"I can't stand up in front of this flag and say I'm vowing that we have liberty and justice for all in this country when we don't," Sara MacDonald told The Post-Crescent.
For Wisconsinites, the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade puts an 1849 state law back into effect that banned Wisconsin doctors from performing abortions, except in cases where the mother's life is in danger. Wisconsin clinics have halted all abortions.
MacDonald and Calumet County Board member Emily Voight are encouraging others "who are angry about the loss of women’s rights" to sit down during the pledge at committee and county board meetings as a form of peaceful protest.
MacDonald said her protest isn't about disrespecting the flag or the country, but about bringing awareness to the impact Wisconsin’s abortion ban will have on people.
This is an emotional issue for MacDonald, who has a daughter with a disability and worries about the impact the state's abortion ban could have on her.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey, people with disabilities are almost four times more likely than nondisabled people to experience serious violent crime, such as rape and sexual assault.
Wisconsin's abortion ban has no exception for rape or incest victims.
"The idea that she would be forced to carry a child to full term is pretty upsetting," MacDonald said.
The board members' silent protest follows a slew of protests in Appleton over the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Hundreds of abortion-rights supporters filled downtown Appleton on July 4 to protest what they called the loss of their rights caused by Wisconsin's abortion ban.
An organizer of the July 4 event, Faith Roska, told the crowd they needed to protest Roe v. Wade getting overturned on Independence Day to show that people who can get pregnant no longer have independence in this country.
"It's not Independence Day for us," Roska told the crowd during the protest.
Sitting down during the pledge or kneeling during the national anthem has become a popular form of protest following former NFL player Colin Kaepernick's decision to kneel during "The Star-Spangled Banner" before games as a way of protesting police brutality and racial inequality in 2016.
For a while now, MacDonald said it felt wrong to stand for the pledge after witnessing the Black Lives Matter movement, but it was the loss of abortion rights that pushed her to finally opt out.
MacDonald said, "I felt like a fraud standing for the pledge because we don't have liberty and justice in our country."
Sophia Voight can be reached at svoight@postcrescent.com or 920-993-7102. Follow her on Twitter @sophia_voight.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Outagamie County Board member sits during Pledge of Allegiance in protest
