Rally at the courthouse
This morning Leo and I dropped Audrey off at kindergarten, then headed to the courthouse in the nearby county where the midwife being prosecuted would be formally charged. My stomach was churning with tension, and I could barely choke down the fast food we bought to eat on our way. I'm not sure why this recent issue has brought up such strong emotion in me. Sure, I believe in it, but this is not just anger, it's fear. Yes, I'm afraid. I'm afraid for myself and other families, that we may not be able to choose the kind of births we want if things keep rolling this way.
We arrived a bit after 8 a.m., and other supporters were already gathering. Last week, on just a couple of days' notice, about 40 supporters gathered, including children. Today there were around 150. Many held signs or banners carrying slogans such as "We love midwives", "Stop the witchhunt", and "Legislation, not prosecution." There were many references to State Bill 1237, which would allow for the licensure of midwives. If this bill had been passed either of the two other times it has faced the statehouse, Jennifer would not be in this mess.
I saw news trucks for two local stations, the CBS and ABC affiliates.
I saw several familiar faces, some I had not seen for a long time. There were lots of greetings and hugs. We milled around for a while, then people started walking with their signs around the courthouse block. Finally around 8:30, I suggested to my friend Q, a radical unassisted-birther who has been to political rallies of many kinds, that we start chanting.
"What do you think we should do?" she asked.
"Maybe something simple, like 'What do we want? Drop the charges! When do we want it? Now!'"
"Ok, you start it with me," and she explained quickly to a few others standing nearby what we were going to do.
Everyone quickly took up the chant. "What do we want?" "Drop the charges!" "When do we want it?" "NOW!" We stood near the courthouse for a while, and then started circling again. Finally we moved towards Jennifer's attorney's office, still keeping up the chorus. "What do we want?" "Drop the charges!" "When do we want it?" "NOW!" A few minutes later, when Jennifer emerged, a huge cheer of support swelled up. I took up a new chant. "We support Jennifer! We support Jennifer! We support Jennifer!" We followed her back to the steps of the courthouse, still chanting our support. When she finally went inside, several people went in with her. Some, including Leo, actually went into the courtroom to hear the proceedings, which took less than 15 minutes, the mere formality of officially charging her with practicing medicine and midwifery without a license. While the rest of us waited outside, supporters took a break from chanting. Some sat on the steps and nursed their babies. I got the stroller out of the van for Aislinn and gave her some Cheerios and banana. She had not had breakfast yet, having been yanked out of bed at the ungodly hour of 7:00.
Later, Jennifer emerged amidst more cheers. We began circling the courthouse once again, this time with Jennifer joining us. When we marched near the main road, a busy state highway, we were thrilled to hear honks of support for us by passing cars. There were also, of course, the toots of passing semis, who undoubtedly knew nothing of what we were doing, but any attention we could get for our cause was good.
Later we decided to march down to the city center, an old-fashioned round-about. As we marched, a reporter from the NBC affiliate showed up, following after us. We slowed then stopped so she could interview Jennifer, then continued marching. The reporter looked right at me as we walked by and asked, "Can we talk to you?" Oh my gosh, I'm going to be on TV. Keep calm, Andrea, keep calm. Think about your message, think about what you want to get across.
I hope I did that. The reporter, Kris Kirschner, seemed interested and sympathetic. Someone also thrust a press packet into her hands, so whatever I said that may not have been clear enough will at least get covered in that.
Then it was time to go. Her next hearing is March 10, but I believe there is a statehouse rally scheduled before then. Expect to hear from me.
We arrived a bit after 8 a.m., and other supporters were already gathering. Last week, on just a couple of days' notice, about 40 supporters gathered, including children. Today there were around 150. Many held signs or banners carrying slogans such as "We love midwives", "Stop the witchhunt", and "Legislation, not prosecution." There were many references to State Bill 1237, which would allow for the licensure of midwives. If this bill had been passed either of the two other times it has faced the statehouse, Jennifer would not be in this mess.
I saw news trucks for two local stations, the CBS and ABC affiliates.
I saw several familiar faces, some I had not seen for a long time. There were lots of greetings and hugs. We milled around for a while, then people started walking with their signs around the courthouse block. Finally around 8:30, I suggested to my friend Q, a radical unassisted-birther who has been to political rallies of many kinds, that we start chanting.
"What do you think we should do?" she asked.
"Maybe something simple, like 'What do we want? Drop the charges! When do we want it? Now!'"
"Ok, you start it with me," and she explained quickly to a few others standing nearby what we were going to do.
Everyone quickly took up the chant. "What do we want?" "Drop the charges!" "When do we want it?" "NOW!" We stood near the courthouse for a while, and then started circling again. Finally we moved towards Jennifer's attorney's office, still keeping up the chorus. "What do we want?" "Drop the charges!" "When do we want it?" "NOW!" A few minutes later, when Jennifer emerged, a huge cheer of support swelled up. I took up a new chant. "We support Jennifer! We support Jennifer! We support Jennifer!" We followed her back to the steps of the courthouse, still chanting our support. When she finally went inside, several people went in with her. Some, including Leo, actually went into the courtroom to hear the proceedings, which took less than 15 minutes, the mere formality of officially charging her with practicing medicine and midwifery without a license. While the rest of us waited outside, supporters took a break from chanting. Some sat on the steps and nursed their babies. I got the stroller out of the van for Aislinn and gave her some Cheerios and banana. She had not had breakfast yet, having been yanked out of bed at the ungodly hour of 7:00.
Later, Jennifer emerged amidst more cheers. We began circling the courthouse once again, this time with Jennifer joining us. When we marched near the main road, a busy state highway, we were thrilled to hear honks of support for us by passing cars. There were also, of course, the toots of passing semis, who undoubtedly knew nothing of what we were doing, but any attention we could get for our cause was good.
Later we decided to march down to the city center, an old-fashioned round-about. As we marched, a reporter from the NBC affiliate showed up, following after us. We slowed then stopped so she could interview Jennifer, then continued marching. The reporter looked right at me as we walked by and asked, "Can we talk to you?" Oh my gosh, I'm going to be on TV. Keep calm, Andrea, keep calm. Think about your message, think about what you want to get across.
I hope I did that. The reporter, Kris Kirschner, seemed interested and sympathetic. Someone also thrust a press packet into her hands, so whatever I said that may not have been clear enough will at least get covered in that.
Then it was time to go. Her next hearing is March 10, but I believe there is a statehouse rally scheduled before then. Expect to hear from me.
posted by Andrea | 11:15 AM
4 Comments:
It was great seeing you there this morning Andrea...it's been a long time! Thank you for your part in leading the group! Loved seeing Leo there in support of Jennifer...my heart melt to see so many dads and husbands there today!
I look forward to seeing you on tv tonight...I know without a doubt you did wonderfully!
I'm all teary reading your account of it. I've got to figure out how to get Keithen to school and get myself there early enough for the next date. I hope that our voices are heard, Jennifer's charges are dropped and the bill can FINALLY make it's way past Miller. It seems so unbelieveable that ONE person can hold up HB 1237 which would solve ALL of this.
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=4389198
I was able to read the article, you were in it!!
For dad's and husband's to be involved too is just fantastic!
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