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As demonstrations continued outside the Supreme Court over the fate of abortion rights in the U.S., workers were seen installing higher fences around the building late Wednesday.
For days, abortion-rights and anti-abortion advocates have clashed outside the building after a leaked draft Supreme Court opinion published by Politico revealed that the high court was likely to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The court confirmed that the draft was "authentic" but maintained that a final opinion has not yet been issued.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden slammed the draft opinion, saying, “This is about a lot more than abortion.”
“What are the next things that are going to be attacked?” he told reporters at the White House. “Because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in American history, in recent American history.”
Meanwhile, others have celebrated the development.
At least 23 states would institute abortion bans should Roe v. Wade be overturned, according to an NBC News analysis of Center for Reproductive Rights data.
Pence praises draft opinion overturning Roe
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday praised the draft opinion leaked earlier this week that signaled the Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade, proclaiming “Roe must go.”
Pence acknowledged the leaked draft opinion, published by Politico on Monday, at a speech in South Carolina and he noted that it is not final.
“We will hope and pray that that draft opinion soon becomes the majority opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States,” Pence said to applause at the Carolina Pregnancy Center gala in Spartanburg.
Louisiana lawmakers advance bill that would classify abortion as homicide
A bill advanced Wednesday by Louisiana legislators would classify abortion as homicide, allowing authorities to potentially charge women and girls with murder and criminalize in vitro fertilization, critics said.
The bill, dubbed the Abolition of Abortion in Louisiana Act, passed 7-2 out of a state House subcommittee two days after Politico published a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The bill will now move to a full House vote. The legislation would still need support from the Senate and the governor before it could become law.
How limiting abortion access hurts women financially
The leaked draft of an opinion that suggests the Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v. Wade and its federal protection for access to abortion would put decades of gains made by women at risk — and it would mean dire economic consequences for some of them.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on Tuesday, Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., warned that forcing women to have and raise unplanned children would make it harder for women to pursue education, increase their incomes and build wealth.
“Pregnancy and parenthood is an economic decision,” she said. “This is going to shape people’s economic opportunities.”
Porter, a single mother herself, said the stakes of rolling back Roe v. Wade would be high not just for women but also for families, communities and the country. Child poverty would rise, public health services would be strained, and social resources would be stretched to their limits.
Chief Justice John Roberts calls abortion draft leak ‘absolutely appalling’
ATLANTA — Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday decried as “absolutely appalling” the leak of a draft decision indicating the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the constitutional right to abortion in his first public appearance since its disclosure Monday.
The leak prompted an internal crisis at the nation’s top judicial body and ignited a political firestorm, with abortion rights supporters staging rallies outside the courthouse and at various locations around the U.S.
“A leak of this stature is absolutely appalling,” Roberts said at a judicial conference in Atlanta.
“If the person behind it thinks that it will affect our work, that’s just foolish,” he added.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signs bill into law protecting abortion providers, out-of-state patients
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law Thursday a bill protecting abortion providers and out-of-state patients.
State and local agencies are now prevented by the law from cooperating in investigations and prosecutions of abortion providers, NBC Connecticut reported. The law also modifies the state’s extradition statutes and prevents an out-of-state patient’s medical records from being disclosed.
The legislation also loosens restrictions by allowing "advanced practice" registered nurses, nurse midwives and physician assistants to perform aspiration abortions through 12 weeks of pregnancy, which NBC Connecticut reported is to address a potential rush on services from out of state.
In a statement he issued before the signing, Lamont warned the leaked draft opinion showed the Supreme Court may be close to "ending a woman's right to choose and ending Roe v Wade."
"That's not going to happen in the state of Connecticut, not as long as I'm here. No politicians are going to get between you and your doctor. You make the choice."
Jill Biden describes 'shocking' phone call when she and the president learned about draft Roe decision
In a forthcoming interview, first lady Jill Biden describes how "shocking it was when we heard the news" about the draft opinion. She said she and President Joe Biden had received a call about the leak.
"I am old enough that I can remember when Roe v. Wade passed," Biden told MSNBC's Symone Sanders in an interview set to air in full Saturday.
She said that while presidents nominate judges for seats on the high court, "If that goes to the state level, our state legislators will matter."
"People have to get involved," she added.
Schumer says vote to codify Roe just 'first step' in the fight
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he wants to put Republicans “on the record” with next week’s procedural vote to codify federal abortion protections but that it's just “the first step” of Democrats’ fight.
“This is not one vote and then this issue goes away,” Schumer said. “You’ll hear a lot from us through the next months, all the way through November.”
Asked why Democrats weren’t signing on to a narrower bill introduced by Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Schumer said: “We are not cutting back. We’re not compromising. This is about a woman’s right to choose, fully. We’re not looking to compromise something as vital as this. People should show where they stand. This has been American law for 50 years.”
He said the draft Supreme Court decision aimed at overturning Roe v. Wade is what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and "Senate Republicans have fought for their entire careers, but they’re out of step with the mainstream.”
ACLU: 'Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better' if Roe is overturned
Brigitte Amiri, the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Reproductive Freedom Project, warned that if the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion were issued as written, about half the states would quickly ban abortion, "and the devastation and chaos that it will wreak is just horrific."
Amiri said that hostility to abortion is rising and that lawmakers are warning of increased penalties, from bans to fines to "homicide charges."
"We’ve also seen lawmakers introduce bills that would prevent people from crossing state lines to access abortion," Amiri said.
"So the hostility that we are going to see is going to be exponential, and we will be doing everything that we can to fight back. We will be looking at state courts, state constitutions. We will be doing everything that we can, but I fear that things are going to get a lot worse before they get better if Roe v. Wade is overturned."
She warned that the legal interpretation in Justice Samuel Alito's draft opinion signaled that "a whole host of rights that we care about are on the table for erosion, and that includes contraception, the right to marry and so many other rights."
O'Rourke says voters will reject Texas Gov. Abbott over abortion moves
Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee for governor of Texas, told NBC News’ Garrett Haake that Texans do not support the state's restrictive abortion law or its trigger law that would further restrict the procedure if Roe v. Wade were struck down.
"Those who are going to be most affected are also overlapping with those who traditionally haven’t been voting in Texas elections," O'Rourke said. "The very young, those who are experiencing poverty, Black and brown people in communities across the 254 counties, understanding now that their rights have been foreclosed by one person, Greg Abbott, and that Republican-majority Legislature — that is going to be energizing, galvanizing. I should say that is already energizing and galvanizing, because we’re seeing this and hearing this from people."
O'Rourke said the issue could be a winning one for state Democrats this year.
"People are going to show up in record numbers because they want to be heard, and we want our fellow Texans, and the rest of the country, for that matter, to know that what Greg Abbott is doing is not a reflection of who we are or what we want," he said. "And the one way that we’re going to change that is to win political power by this governor’s — by winning this governor’s race."
Garland says Justice Department committed to defending the right to abortion
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday that the leaked Supreme Court draft that revealed the high court was likely to overturn Roe v. Wade wasn't a final decision and that he wouldn't discuss the court's deliberative processes.
"But what I will say is that the Justice Department has steadfastly been committed to defending the right to abortion. We are amicus in the Dobbs case. The solicitor general herself argued on behalf of the United States in the Dobbs case," Garland said. "If the law changes, we will address appropriate next steps at that time. But what will not change is our commitment to defending the rights of women and all Americans."
