Police Will ‘Monitor’ Abortion Protests Near Supreme Court

Supreme Court Police officers set up security barricades outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 1, 2021. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Washington police say they’re aware of proposed protests near the Supreme Court and will plan accordingly.

Protest organizing group Shut Down D.C. has said that it will blockade the court on June 13 in response to a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that suggests the justices might overturn Roe v. Wade.

In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion was a constitutional right and that legislators could only regulate it to a limited extent. But the Supreme Court’s leaked Dobbs v. Jackson draft decision would put decisions on abortion into the hands of state and national legislators.

In response to this decision, several activist groups plan to block all three vehicle entrances to the Supreme Court on June 13. During an online meeting by the activists, it was suggested that protesters will likely sit in front of the court’s entrances, but it remains to be seen whether protesters will settle on this method.

June 13 is the first Monday after one of the court’s three remaining conference days. It’s likely that the court will release decisions then, but no one knows for certain when the Dobbs v. Jackson decision will go public.

Plans from an online meeting by Shut Down D.C. activists to blockade the entrances of the U.S. Supreme Court on May 24, 2022 Jackson Elliott/The Epoch Times

The Supreme Court traditionally ends its term on July 1, but it might go longer.

Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) told The Epoch Times that it knew of the planned protest.

“We are aware of upcoming demonstrations in this area,” MPD Public Affairs Specialist Alaina Gertz said in an email.

“As with any demonstration, MPD will be monitoring and assessing the activities and planning accordingly with our federal law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of all residents and visitors to the District of Columbia,” Gertz wrote.

The Epoch Times also reached out to the U.S. Supreme Court Police, the House Committee on the Judiciary, and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, but these institutions didn’t respond by press time.

In an online planning meeting on May 24, activists with Shut Down D.C. said the protest might result in arrests because it would “stretch the bounds of constitutionally protected speech.”

Protesters also said one of the protest’s goals was to “continue to escalate the crisis in democracy” by forcing police to intervene.

Shut Down D.C. has also planned a legal protest in front of the Supreme Court scheduled for the same day.

The Supreme Court’s decision will likely have an immediate nationwide impact on abortion laws.

About 25 states would ban abortion if given the opportunity, according to an analysis by the Center for Reproductive Rights, a pro-abortion group.

“If the Supreme Court gives states more leeway to restrict abortion or prohibit it all together, almost half the states would likely enact new laws as restrictive as possible or seek to enforce current, unconstitutional laws prohibiting abortion,” the group’s website reads.