Demonstrators in front of the Supreme Court building on Monday.
Photo:
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
WASHINGTON—The Senate swiftly passed a bill to expand police protections for Supreme Court justices to include their immediate family members, in the wake of protests following a leaked draft ruling that indicated the court could overturn Roe v. Wade.
The measure passed late Monday by unanimous consent. The broad support in the Senate suggests a clear pathway to passage in the House, but no immediate plan was set.
A leaked draft opinion published last week by Politico suggested that the conservative wing of the court was preparing to undo the 1973 Roe decision, which established abortion as a constitutional right, in a Mississippi abortion case the justices are currently considering. Chief Justice
John Roberts
confirmed the draft was authentic but cautioned it wasn’t final.
The Supreme Court is currently surrounded by security fencing to guard against potential threats. Over the weekend, some protesters demonstrated outside the home of Supreme Court Justice
Brett Kavanaugh
in suburban Chevy Chase, Md.
Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell
(R., Ky.) accused progressives of trying to harass justices at their homes in order to achieve a desired judicial outcome, saying they were trying to “replace the rule of law with the rule of mobs.” He also said the White House had been slow to condemn such protests.
At the daily White House briefing Monday, press secretary
Jen Psaki
said protesters “should never resort to violence, to threats, to intimidation in any way, shape, or form.”
The Senate is scheduled to vote this Wednesday on whether to take up legislation to assert healthcare providers’ right to provide an abortion before a fetus is viable, and to say that a patient has a right to receive one, in line with current Supreme Court precedent. In a 50-50 Senate where most legislation requires a 60-vote supermajority to advance, the bill is expected to be blocked.
If Roe is overturned, states’ law would determine abortion policy. Some states have plans in place to sharply curtail access to abortions, while other states have moved to codify existing law.
Write to Siobhan Hughes at siobhan.hughes@wsj.com
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Appeared in the May 10, 2022, print edition as ‘Bill to Boost Security For Justices Advances.’