A pro-life college student, who was videoed weeping tears of joy outside the U.S. Supreme Court building when Roe v. Wade was overturned, says the video of her emotional outpouring is being misrepresented in a pro-abortion advertisement paid for by the California Democratic Party.

Macy Petty, who was interning this summer at the Family Research Council’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., said the video clip of her falling to her knees and sobbing immediately following the June 24 announcement of the Dobbs decision is being used deceitfully to persuade viewers to support California’s Proposition 1 on the Nov. 8 ballot. The measure would make abortion a constitutional right up to birth in the state.

Although the original #yesonprop1 campaign video circulating on social media platforms has since been edited to remove Petty from the ad, she is asking all those on Twitter who have retweeted or liked the original ad—including former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, also a Democrat—to remove the disingenuous version from their social media accounts.

In the original version of the ad, Petty’s emotional reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling is overlaid with the word “SAD,” inferring that women were “mad, sad, and scared” by the high court’s overturning of federalized abortion.

“In the full video, it is obvious I am crying tears of joy upon the announcement of the Dobbs decision,” Petty announced on Twitter. “I am holding a ‘Students for Life’ banner and am with friends who are also holding pro-life signs. In your campaign video, you portrayed me in an evil light and distorted my emotions as part of your political game.”

Petty has a history of advocating for pro-life causes, including serving at pregnancy resource centers, following the example of her mother and grandmother.

“Being pro-life is something that I’m very passionate about and something that I’m kind of devoting as part of my calling,” Petty told The Washington Stand. “I mean, this was historic. This is something that people have been fighting for—for literally generations. And somehow God allowed me to be in front of the Supreme Court when the decision was released and Roe v Wade was overturned. I mean, what in the world? What a blessing. And so that was just so crazy.”

Petty continued: “I knew that my face was something that would try to persuade somebody to vote yes on such a horrible proposition. So that was just absolutely gut wrenching to know that they were including me in that. And that’s why I was so passionate about taking it down.”

Although Petty has yet to receive any apologies, she said she knows that her voice has been heard, because when the Yes On Prop 1 campaign shared the ad again, her video images had been replaced.

Students For Life told The Washington Stand, “The emptiness of the pro-abortion movement is so vast that when Hillary Clinton, Governor Newsom, and the California Democratic Party wanted to find powerful emotion outside of the Supreme Court on the day Roe ended, they had to turn to a pro-life woman. Students for Life was outside the court that day witnessing a miracle, the end of the hijacking of our Constitution with an abortion agenda. And Macy Petty proudly held one of our signs, showing her support for the preborn and their mothers. We all wept tears of joy that day, which makes the misuse of her image to send a pro-abortion message all the more offensive.”

Photo: Maria Oswalt / Unsplash