By CNS and staff reporters
ADMINISTRATION officials for U.S. President Joe Biden have condemned protesters who descended on churches and the homes of Supreme Court justices, as demonstrations over the abortion issue become increasingly threatening and violent.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that the U.S. president “strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest.”
“But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety,” Ms Psaki said.
The statement came after news agencies reported protests outside the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and the nearby home of Chief Justice John Roberts.
At the same time, President Joe Biden has criticised as “radical” the draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalised abortion.
“It concerns me a great deal that after 50 years we’re going to decide that a woman doesn’t have the right to choose,” Biden told reporters before boarding Air Force One for a trip to Alabama.
If the decision is issued, he said, “a whole range of rights” that are based on the presumption of privacy will be in question, including access to contraception and same sex marriage.
“It’s a fundamental shift in American jurisprudence,” Biden said.
Biden said he wanted Congress to pass legislation codifying Roe v. Wade, but he wasn’t prepared to say whether the Senate should sidestep the filibuster to do so.
Demonstrations have broken out after the online news site Politico published a report on May 2 from a leaked draft opinion signalling that the majority of Supreme Court justices seem set to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Those opposed to having it overturned have taken to the streets to protest. But vandalism showing discontent with the potential ruling also seems to be on the rise.
The New York Times reported May 7 that part of the wall of the headquarters of Wisconsin Family Action, in Madison, was set on fire, leaving behind graffiti that read: “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either.”
Madison Bishop Donald J. Hying, called the vandalism, “a brazen act of violence, which all citizens should condemn, as an attack on the respect and concern we owe to each other in seeking the common good.”
Officials from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ religious liberty office said they documented nine similar incidents in the days following the leak, stretching from New York to Los Angeles.
Most were disruptions or destruction of property such as the one reported by The Denver Channel in Colorado, an ABC affiliate, where Sacred Heart of Mary Church staff, in Boulder, removed graffiti, paint, and broken glass over Mother’s Day weekend.
Though the leaked draft is not final, Chief Justice Roberts confirmed its authenticity and has called for an investigation.
The draft, according to the Politico report, shows five justices’ alignment against Roe v. Wade – enough to overturn it.
