Op-Ed: Is smearing food on the ‘Mona Lisa’ a productive form of climate change protest?
On August 15, a group took to the streets with a banner that said “Ban the Surgeon’s Bill.” The banner was designed to be affixed to the side of the New York City Subway, but it became a target for activists who were concerned, at the time, about the impact that the bill would have on medical services in the city. While the idea of using the subway wasn’t original, it was a great fit for this particular group, who were calling on lawmakers to support efforts to defund Planned Parenthood in this country, as well as oppose any health proposals that would “disenfranchise vulnerable populations,” as the Daily Beast recently described the bill.
The group, which included former members of the animal rights group PETA, was concerned about the unintended consequences of the bill, which would “disenfranchise vulnerable populations,” and would likely lead to cuts to services for the poor, minority communities, as well as women and other marginalized groups. Instead, the group took to the streets to make their voices heard loudly and clearly.
The group’s action wasn’t meant to intimidate others into silence, but the group themselves has been met with criticism from other activist groups, as well as from politicians. One of the most vocal critics of the group is one of the activists who helped design the bill and is now pushing it through Congress, Rep. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.).
On Sunday, August 20, Ms. Hochul wrote a piece for the New York Times, called “Why I Won’t Vote For the Surgeon’s Bill,” in which she explained why she would not sign an appropriations bill that defunds Planned Parenthood.
“I don’t believe that Planned Parenthood is the enemy,” she wrote.
Ms. Hochul is far from alone in her thinking on this issue. In fact, other prominent members of the Republican Party have come out in support of the bill. The Huffington
