ALEXANDRIA — Protesters in favor of access to abortion made their displeasure with Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. loud and clear Monday night, marching and chanting through the Washington suburbs to the front steps of the conservative judge’s home over his draft majority opinion striking down Roe v. Wade that was leaked last week.
“F—- the court and the legislators, we are not your incubators!” one chant went. In another, the approximately 100 protesters shouted, “Alito says post-Roe, we say hell no!”
“Abort the court!” some shouted at one point in front of Justice Alito’s home, as law enforcement officials lined his yard and street.
One speaker, who only went by Tom, said restricting abortion access would be only the beginning of Republicans’ agenda to limit other rights, such as same-sex marriage.
“There are people out there who say that the type of logic used in this decision to overturn Roe won’t be used to attack fundamental human rights in this country. Let me be clear: That’s a f—-ing lie!” he belted through a megaphone.
Monday night’s event, organized by the left-wing climate activist group ShutDown DC, was the latest in a string of protests outside the homes of the Supreme Court’s conservative members after a draft majority opinion written by Justice Alito in February knocking down Roe v. Wade was leaked and published by Politico last week.
Organizers created a makeshift candlelight vigil outside Justice Alito’s Alexandria home, which represented “all these rights that Alito is threatening to take away.”
Protesters described abortions as a fundamental right that is necessary to ensure safe pregnancy terminations. Without it, they argued, abortions would only become more dangerous, rather than less frequent.
During their walk from a nearby shopping plaza where they had assembled, protesters tried to recruit curious neighbors who popped outside to see why their typically quiet suburban neighborhood had suddenly become ground-zero for pro-choice activists.
In reference to a neighbor of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh who organized a protest outside his home over the weekend, one protester yelled to the onlookers: “You, too, can be like Kavanaugh’s neighbors and organize your own vigil!”
Few accepted offers to join the protest, as some looked bewildered or annoyed. One woman stood outside and filmed, smiled and nodded in approval, but declined to join. Another out walking her dog was confused by the protesters and police presence, saying she had unknowingly lived a street away from Justice Alito for the past seven years.
Robin Weissman, 65, and her 21-year-old daughter, Ciara, were among the few who heard the protest from their backyard and felt compelled to join.
“There was a great cartoon that I saw recently. It was a bunch of dogs sitting around a table, and the caption was, ‘Planning health care for cats,’” Ms. Weissman said. “That’s what’s happening.”
While she felt that showing up to a Supreme Court justice’s private residence rather than their workplace “isn’t necessarily the way to go,” her daughter compared it to the health care choices that women should be able to make without the government.
“Protesting in front of the justice’s house is very personal, just like getting an abortion is,” Ciara said.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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