Roe v Wade protesters gear up for rallies at US Catholic churches on Mother’s Day

Pro-choice activists are planning protests at Catholic churches in the US on Mother’s Day following the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion this week which called for overturning <em>Roe v Wade</em>.

Ruth Sent Us, an activist group named after the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is calling for protesters to “rise up” after the decision indicated the high court’s conservative majority plans to rescind abortion rights.

“Whether you’re a ‘Catholic for Choice’, ex-Catholic, of other or no faith, recognise that six extremist Catholics set out to overturn Roe,” the organisation tweeted this week.

“Stand at or in a local Catholic Church Sun May 8,” adding the hashtags War On Women and Mother’s Day Strike.

An accompanying video showed demonstrators wearing costumes reminiscent of those in Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel,The Handmaid’s Tale, chanting “without this basic right, women can’t be free” as they appear to be ushered out of a church.

In a separate post to on TikTok, Ruth Sent Us encouraged activists to turn out en masse for a week of nationwide protests starting on Sunday.

A voiceover asks: “Who’s up for a church protest May 8 to 14,” and encourages would-be protesters to sign up for more information.

It’s unclear when the videos were shot. Ruth Sent Us did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.

Another group, Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights, said it was planning a “week of action” including “actions outside churches” beginning on Sunday.

“Several cities will be hosting protests outside of prominent churches in their towns, these can look like a group of people holding signs wearing Handmaids Tale outfits, passing out flyers outside to church goers or doing a die-in,” the group said in a statement on its website.

Demonstrations have been ongoing this week after a draft opinion from Justice Samuel Alito called the 1973 Roe v Wade decision “egregiously wrong”.

It revealed that five of the nine justices were in favour of overturning the right to abortion. The court is expected to make a final decision in June.

According to the Catholic News Agency, the Diocese of Charleston, the Archdiocese of New York, and some churches in Washington DC are taking extra precautions ahead of Sunday services.

DC’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) public information officer Sean Hickman told The Independent that they were aware of “potential disruptions” in Washington.

“MPD will be monitoring, assessing and planning accordingly with our local and federal partners. We have increased available resources, including the activation of our Civil Disturbance Units, in preparation for these activities,” Mr Hickman said in a statement.