Protesters interrupt Supreme Court to defend abortion rights: ‘We will restore our freedom to choose’

Three women arrested after calling out to women voters from inside courtroom

Three abortion rights protesters interrupted oral arguments at the US Supreme Court to urge voters to protect abortion access and denounce the high court’s decision to strip a constitutional right to care.

The demonstration on 2 November marked the first protest within the courtroom in nearly seven years, and nearly five months after the court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey, landmark cases that affirmed a constitutional right to abortion.

Supreme Court justices were hearing oral arguments in an unrelated case of Bittner v United States on Wednesday when a protester called out to American women voters to “denounce Dobbs” and “remember to vote” in midterm elections.

A second protester said that “the right to choose will not be taken away” and urged women to “vote for our right to choose.”

“We will restore our freedom to choose,” a third woman called out from inside the court. “Women of America, vote!”

Each protester was removed from the court by police and placed under arrest.

A press release identifies the women as Emily Paterson and Nikki Enfield of Virginia and Rolande Baker of Arizona.

“Generations of women, including my own, have fought to win our right to vote and our right to choose,” according to a written statement from Ms Baker, identified as a great-grandmother and retired schoolteacher from Tucson. “Now we must use our ballots and our voices to restore our freedom to choose.”

Within the first 100 days after the Supreme Court’s conservative-majority decision in the Dobbs case, more than a dozen states have outlawed most abortions and at least 66 clinics across 15 states have closed.

Voters in several states are voting directly on measures related to reproductive healthcare in midterm elections this fall.

Americans across the US will be also voting for candidates at the state level – from legislators to secretaries of state and governors – who will be crucial in deciding future state legislation and litigation that could outlaw or severely restrict abortion access.

Voters also will determine the balance of power in Congress, which could advance a nationwide ban on abortion care or implement severe restrictions on abortion access at the federal level if Republican lawmakers control either chamber. President Joe Biden has pledged to veto any such legislation.

The Independent has requested comment from a public information officer at the Supreme Court.