Demonstrations Continue at Supreme Court Hearings on Health Care Law

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Beating drums, waving signs and chanting slogans, over 1,000 health care supporters overflowed the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court yesterday, vastly outnumbering the handful of tea party members who showed up. Many wore t-shirts emblazoned with their names and why they supported the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Robin Martin (below) held aloft a photo of her young son and told the story of how the intensive care he needed would not only have bankrupted the family without ACA but would have been considered a lifelong pre-existing condition by insurers before the passage of President Obama’s landmark healthcare legislation. “We are so glad that we have great health insurance,” said Martin, “and the ACA is so important to us.” Although SEIU 722 President Dan Fields didn’t expect the rally to affect the Supreme Court’s deliberations on the constitutionality of the ACA, “They need to hear from the people. By us being out here, they know that the people are behind” the health care law. Healthcare is a huge issue for SEIU – which spearheaded turnout yesterday – said Fields, noting that “It’s not just what we do every day (as health care professionals); we believe everyone in the country deserves health care.” Demonstrations continue this morning as the Court concludes arguments on the case. - report/photos by Chris Garlock