Supes in more peril after repeal of Roe, sez Homeland chief
Life has gotten dangerous for Supreme Court justices and their families since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday.
Angry protests intensified across the country since the high court ruled June 24 that abortion is no longer a constitutionally protected right.
“We have seen a heightened threat environment … over the last several months over a number of different volatile issues,” Mayorkas said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
“We are very mindful that the Supreme Court’s decision in reversing and overturning Roe v. Wade has really heightened the threat environment, and we have deployed resources to ensure the safety and security of the Supreme Court and the justices,” he added.
Prior to the release of the decision, which was leaked in the spring, President Biden signed a bill extending security to members of the justices’ families.
Democrats, meanwhile, hope to make the ruling part of their case to voters in this year’s midterm elections.
“This is a serious matter, and it requires all of us to speak up, to speak out and to be active,” Vice President Kamala Harris said Saturday night at the Essence Festival in New Orleans.
“We’re a nation that was founded on certain principles that are … grounded in the concept of freedom and liberty,” Harris said. “We also know we’ve had a history in this country of government trying to claim ownership over human bodies, and we had supposedly evolved from that time and that way of thinking.
“So this is very problematic on so many levels, the impact that it is going to have on women without means.”
In New York, lawmakers are working to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. The Legislature began the process Friday of passing the Equal Protection Amendment, which would ban discrimination based on “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes and reproductive health care and autonomy.”
But the Supreme Court decision triggered red state bans on abortion as well as a number of legal fights.
On Saturday, Texas clinics ended abortion services after the state’s Supreme Court blocked an order temporarily permitting the procedure to continue in some cases.
“Pro-life victory!” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican. “Litigation continues, but I’ll keep winning for Texas’ unborn babies.”