Supreme Court Justices are being threatened.
Members of Congress, healthcare workers and activists on either side of the abortion issue are becoming targets of violence.
The clash between pro-life and abortion supporters is heating up, as we await the Supreme Court’s decision on a Mississippi case that could overturn Roe v Wade, the 50-year-old law which gives US women access to abortion. A leaked draft memo written by Justice Samuel Alito, published by Politico on May 2, alerted the public to the likelihood that the Court would be in favor of overturning Roe v Wade.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court’s conservative majority, according to Politico. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” Alito concluded.
If the Supreme Court votes to support the same opinions as stated in Justice Alito’s draft, 26 US states will subsequently ban abortion.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing for a summer of violence. On May 13, the DHS issued a memo entitled “Potential for Threats to Public Safety in Response to Abortion Debate,” and sent it to law enforcement departments all over the country.
The memo specifically refers to a rise in threats, many on social media, against abortion clinics and women’s healthcare facilities. Some posts endorse and suggest violence, and even murder of Supreme Court Justices, court personnel, Congress, healthcare workers and demonstrators.
Since release of Justice Alito’s draft opinion, demonstrations have been occurring across the nation.
Protesters have been assembling outside the homes of conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts, in the hope of swaying their votes in favor of abortion rights.
On Thursday, high school students nationwide walked out of their classrooms in support of women’s abortion rights.
Saturday was called “Bans Off Our Bodies” Day of Action as people gathered in support of pro-choice rights.
Over the weekend, a crowd of approximately 20,000 demonstrators assembled at the Washington Monument in Washington, DC, and marched to the Supreme Court.
Tensions at the rally grew between pro-choice and anti-abortion protesters, with shouts, cursing and some minor altercations. In general, the protest was peaceful. One man was seen hitting another demonstrator in the head with his poster.
In New York City, the mood was more contentious, as thousands of pro-abortion demonstrators walked over the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan, where they were confronted by a small group of anti-abortion supporters. Police had to keep the two groups separated as cursing and threats were heard.
In Atlanta, about 400 abortion supporters assembled in front of the State Capitol, facing a small group of anti-abortion protesters.
This is just the beginning. The Supreme Court is expected to give its decision by the end of June. Things could get very heated up this summer.