Anti-abortion activist calls to punish women and abortion providers after leaked Roe v Wade decision

An anti-abortion activist celebrated a leaked draft opinon that revealed that the US Supreme Court will overturn Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey, saying his ultimate plan was to punish every abortion provider, including women who seek abortions.

Randall Terry, who leads Operation Rescue, is one of the most prominent anti-abortion activists in the United States. On the night that the draft opinion--initially leaked by Politico--showed at the Supreme Court building up with a group of anti-abortion protesters with a ukulele talking about dancing on the grave of Roe v Wade, the landmark decision that enshrined the right to an abortion.

Mr Terry spoke to The Independent about his plans, comparing it to D-Day in World War II,

“We will make it to Berlin and we will make it crime to kill innocent babies from conception 'til birth in all 50 states,” he said. “Every abortionist here in America should be tried for the killing of innocent babies.”

Operation Rescue is one of the more prominent anti-abortion groups and Mr Terry has long been its face. The organisation often blocked access to clinics and hospitals. When asked whether that meant people who seek abortions should be punished, he said “That’s going to be up to local legislators.”

“He says "That's going to be up to local legislators. What we know is that the murderers must face justice,” he said.

“They are accessories for sure,” he said, suggesting that they might even be fined $20.

“Something so they have to be arrested, fingerprinted, their faces in the paper,” he said.

The Supreme Court’s rulling was specifically pertaining to Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which the court heard late last year. The case is regarding Mississippi’s law that criminalises abortion after 15-weeks of pregnancy.

Andrew Feinberg contributed reporting