The homes of the Supreme Court justices are the newest site for abortion access protests in the United States.
Activists gathered Saturday in the rain outside the Maryland residences of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh to protest a leaked draft opinion that is reportedly supported by the conservative majority of the court.
The document, reported by Politico last week, showed that the panel is ready to strike down Roe v. Wade. The court confirmed the authenticity of the draft, but reminded Americans that it is not the final ruling. A decision in the case, which focuses on Mississippi’s abortion restriction, is expected in late June or early July.
Protesters carried signs reading “Never Again” and “Don’t Trample My Choice.”
The demonstrations prompted a response Monday from the White House that judges should not be concerned about their “personal safety.”
“[President Joe Biden] strongly believes in the constitutional right to protest,” press secretary Jen Psaki said in a Twitter post. “But that should never include violence, threats or vandalism. Judges play an incredibly important role in our society and should be able to do their jobs without worrying about their personal safety.”
Republicans accused the administration of failing to condemn violent threats after Psaki’s initial response to protests at judges’ homes.
“These activists posted a map with the addresses of the Supreme Court justices’ homes. Is that the kind of thing this president wants to help his side make its point?” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked during his daily news conference on May 5.
“I think the president’s view is that there is a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across the country for what they saw in that leaked document,” Psaki replied. “Obviously we want people’s privacy to be respected. We want people to protest peacefully if they want to protest. That is certainly the president’s opinion.”
Officers from the Montgomery County Police Department were on the scene as the protests unfolded, as seen on photographs from ABC affiliate station WJLA. The department did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment. There appeared to be no reports of violence or vandalism during the protests.
Senators Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, and John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, introduced legislation on Monday that would allow Supreme Court Police to provide 24-hour security protection to the nine justices and their families.
ShutDownDC said 100 people were part of Saturday’s protests in the Chevy Chase neighborhood where Kavanaugh and Roberts live. It is unclear if the justices or their families were home at the time.
The group plans another protest outside the home of Judge Samuel Alito on Monday night that will include speakers, a candlelight vigil and moments of reflection.
Alito authored the February 10 draft opinion, in which he wrote, “Roe was terribly wrong from the start.”
“It is important that we come together in this way because attacks on abortion rights represent not only a violation of our autonomy over our own bodies and an invasion of privacy between us and our doctors, but also a real and symbolic victory for those who would to further strip us of our rights, including contraception, gay marriage, privacy and safety from state scrutiny of our beliefs, and even more of our Black, Brown and Indigenous friends and brothers,” ShutDownDC’s Hope Neyer told ABCNews.
The draft opinion draft on Roe sparked rallies by both abortion rights activists and anti-abortion protesters across the country. A nationwide day of action is planned for Saturday, May 14.
An eight-foot-high “unscalable” fence was placed around the Supreme Court building last week. Neither the court nor law enforcement officials have said anything publicly about possible threats to the institution or the judges, who will return in person for a private conference on May 12.
Republicans condemn the protests, with Senator Ted Cruz equating them to “mob violence” even though there were no reports of violence.
“It’s embarrassing,” Cruz, a Republican from Texas, told Fox News on Sunday.
ShutDownDC responded to Cruz’s comments, telling ABC, “We are exercising our constitutional right to assemble and demonstrate and we intend to continue to do so regardless of the smears that may be hurled by people like Ted Cruz who are afraid of our collective power.” .
Democratic strategist Paul Begala also weighed in on the protests outside the homes of Roberts and Kavanaugh, saying they could do more harm than good.
“This is wrong, stupid, potentially dangerous and politically counterproductive,” Begala wrote on Twitter.
Reference-abcnews.go.com