A large group of demonstrators gathered outside conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s home on Monday night to protest his leaked draft opinion to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case and end federal protections for abortion rights.
The demonstration — dubbed a “Vigil for Abortion Rights” — was organized by activist group Shut Down D.C., which said it would take its protests directly to the justice’s house in Northern Virginia “because it’s been impossible to reach him at the Supreme Court.”
The group marched down the street, some carrying a banner that read “Repro Freedom For All,” as others chanted “our bodies, our voice!” and “Alito is a coward,” video from Fox News shows.
Organizers said they planned to light candles at the foot of Alito’s driveway where speakers are expected to share their stories about abortion and hold a moment of silence “for the rights we know are ours” before marching away.
Scores of outraged abortion rights activists demonstrated outside the homes of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh over the weekend after the opinion leaked last week.
The protests prompted the Senate to pass legislation on Monday that ramps up personal security and other protections for Supreme Court justices and their families with protective details — similar to those given to members of Congress and White House officials.
Alito, appointed to the Supreme Court in 2006 by George W. Bush, penned the majority opinion that rejects the constitutionality of the Roe v. Wade 1973 decision, which has been the law of the land for nearly 50 years, as well as the subsequent Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision in 1992.
It would instead hand decisions on abortion rights to individual states.
At least 26 states in the South and Midwest are slated to immediately restrict abortion or enact a near-total ban if the historic decision were overturned.
