Topline
An abortion rights advocate on Monday jumped over barricades and chained his neck to a fence surrounding the United States Supreme Court building as he chanted “Overturn Roe? Hell no!”, according to reports and footage of the event, weeks after a leaked draft opinion shows the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Abortion-rights activist Guido Reichstadter chains himself to a security fence in front of the U.S. … [+]
Key Facts
The man—who identified himself on Twitter as Guido Reichstadter, a supporter of the abortion rights group Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights—used both a u-shaped bike lock and a metal chain to tie himself to the fence.
Reichstadter was met by anti-abortion protesters who shouted back at him “abortion is violence” and “Roe v. Wade has got to go.”
Reichstadter—who held a green bandana with the name of the abortion rights group’s website—remained chain to the fence for roughly 15 minutes before Supreme Court Police removed the contraption around his neck and arrested him.
Crucial Quote
“I’m just a dad and I can’t sit back while my daughters’ rights are taken away. It’s just unbelievable to me that the streets aren’t already full of thousands of dads…So that’s why I’ve got to be here,” Reichstadter said in an interview posted on the abortion rights group’s Twitter on Monday.
Key Background
The Supreme Court is set to rule on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health—which will determine the fate of abortion rights—sometime in June. If the Supreme Court decides to overturn Roe v. Wade, 26 states are expected to enact abortion bans, while a dozen states have “trigger bans” that will block the practice immediately, according to the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute. The leaked draft opinion obtained by Politico and published in May declared Roe v. Wade “egregiously wrong.”In the aftermath of the leaked draft opinion , thousands of people gathered across the country to march for abortion rights. Recent polling suggests most Americans think Roe v. Wade should be upheld and abortion should not be banned outright. A poll from Gallup released on Monday and conducted after the draft opinion was leaked found a growing share of voters say abortion will be a major factor in how they vote in 2022 compared to previous election years over the past two decades.
Further Reading
Abortion rights protester locks neck to U.S. Supreme Court fence (Reuters)
Abortion Will Affect Americans’ Midterms Votes More Than Ever, Poll Suggests (Forbes)
Nationwide protests draw thousands in support of abortion rights (NBC)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/madelinehalpert/2022/06/06/abortion-rights-advocate-chains-himself-to-supreme-court-fence-ahead-of-roe-v-wade-decision/