Groups of women dressed in pink gathered outside Plymouth Superior Court this week in support of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother on trial for the 2023 deaths of her three young children.
Clancy’s defense does not dispute that she killed her children but argues that she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from severe mental illness. Prosecutors say the killings were intentional and premeditated.
Many of the women held signs or wore buttons reading “Peace for Lindsay” and “Justice for Lindsay.”
According to AP, several of the roughly 300 people who gathered said Clancy’s story resonated with them and that they wanted to draw attention to how the mental health system treats women.
Calls to ‘repeal the 19th Amendment’
The show of support has also sparked a strong reaction online, with some critics responding with the slogan “Repeal the 19th Amendment.”
One person wrote on X, “Ok I’ve seen enough. Repeal the 19th amendment.”
Another posted, “Y’all do realize this might be a huge impact on repealing the 19th amendment and I am here for it.”
A third wrote, “More and more men—and women—are starting to understand why there’s a repeal the 19th amendment movement.”
What is the 19th Amendment?
The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, prohibits the US government and states from denying the right to vote based on sex. It is the constitutional provision that secured women’s voting rights nationwide.
Lindsay Clancy case
On January 24, 2023, Lindsay Clancythen 32, strangled her three children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months—with exercise bands in the basement of their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home while her husband, Patrick Clancywas out running errands.
Clancy then cut herself and jumped from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt, suffering spinal injuries that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead that day. Callan died three days later.
Clancy has admitted to killing her children but pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder. Her defense argues that she was not criminally responsible because of a severe postpartum mental health crisis. Prosecutors maintain that the killings were deliberate and premeditated.
Her trial began in late July 2026 at Plymouth Superior Court.
If convicted of murder, Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If she is found not criminally responsible, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.
This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis in the US, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
(With inputs from AP)
