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Pro-abortion activists protest in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on May 3, 2022, in response to a leaked draft opinion showing the court's intention to overturn Roe v. Wade. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Pro-abortion activists showed up at an iconic Catholic church in New York City over the weekend to disrupt pro-life demonstrators in one of several pro-abortion protests happening across the country.
The activists arrived at the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in the Manhattan borough of New York City on May 7 where pro-life activists were preparing for their weekly walk from the church to a nearby Planned Parenthood clinic.
One pro-abortion protester wore a bathing suit and shouted “I’m killing the babies!” while waving around plastic baby dolls. Another held a sign that read, “RIP Jesus, killed by ‘woke’ deadbeat dad,” while a third protester held up a placard stating that “abortion is a gift.”
Ruth Sent Us, a pro-abortion group named after the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, had earlier called on supporters to hold Mother’s Day protests at Catholic churches across the country in the aftermath of a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion showing the court’s intention to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow state legislatures to decide abortion laws.
“Whether you’re a ‘Catholic for Choice,’ ex-Catholic, of other or no faith, recognize that six extremist Catholics set out to overturn Roe. Stand at or in a local Catholic Church Sun May 8,” the organization wrote in a May 4 tweet.
Another group called Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights is organizing a “Week of Action” series of protests from May 7–14, insisting that “forced motherhood” is female enslavement and that motherhood should be a choice, “not forced by the church or the state.” The organization has currently called for protests in 29 American cities.
Pro-abortion protests were countered by conservatives who have long called for a ban on abortions. In a May 7 Facebook post, Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, called on believers to attend Sunday church in “greater numbers than ever before,” and accused the left of promoting “death, not life.”
At St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, there were seven pro-life demonstrators standing outside the church.
“We’re proud to see members of our Catholic Caucus @CatholicNYYRC standing up for their beliefs and for the fundamental rights of all unborn Americans. Men sitting in the church’s rear pews were asked to pray outside to ensure that the leftist horde would not overrun the building,” the New York Young Republican Club said in a May 8 tweet.
About 100 pro-abortion activists also held protests in front of the homes of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts on May 7.
Kavanaugh is one of the five conservative justices thought to have cast preliminary votes to overturn Roe v. Wade. Media reports have said Roberts opposes striking down Roe v. Wade completely, instead favoring a compromise decision that would leave some parts of the original ruling intact while keeping abortion limited to 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Roberts has called for an investigation into the leak, calling it “appalling.”
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has indicated that a nationwide abortion ban is a possibility once the Supreme Court officially overturns Roe v. Wade.
