Trump and Supreme Court Justice launch unprecedented attack on Schumer for comments about abortion case

Chuck Schumer warned Republicans who supported Donald Trump's appointment of conservative Supreme Court justices will "pay the price" as opponents prepare for a crucial blow to abortion rights.

In an unprecedented breach of the Supreme Court's impartial view from the bench, Justice John Roberts said the Senate Minority Leader's remarks outside on Wednesday were "dangerous" and Donald Trump said "serious action" must be taken.

"Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous," he said in a statement. "All members of the court will continue to do their job, without fear or favour, from whatever quarter."

The court is set to hear the first abortion-related case under the Trump administration, which has supported efforts to overturn a landmark 45-year-old decision that guarantees women's access to abortion without excessive government intervention.

In June Medical Services LLC v Russo, the court will hear a challenge to a Louisiana law requiring doctors that perform abortions have admitting privileges in nearby hospitals, which opponents say effectively prevents people from seeking a termination in a state where two of its three remaining clinics – all hundreds of miles apart – could close under the rule.

It's similar to a Texas law that the Supreme Court struck down in 2016 after justices rules the policy was too restrictive. Plaintiffs in the 2020 case argue that a reversal of that 2016 decision would not be justified.

A decision could arrive in June.

The outcome could rest on the decisions of conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, who were appointed to the court by the president and approved by a majority of Republicans.

Mr Schumer told protesters that legislatures attempting similar moves to restrict abortion rights "have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price ... You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions."

Mr Trump weighed in on Twitter, calling his impeachment foe's remarks "a direct & dangerous threat" the Supreme Court: "If a Republican did this, he or she would be arrested, or impeached. Serious action MUST be taken NOW!"

The president has previously attacked liberal Supreme Court justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg and said they should recuse themselves from cases involving his administration.

In a statement, Mr Schumer's office said he was referring to the "political price" that Republicans will pay "for putting them on the court and a warning that the justices will unleash major grassroots movement on the issue of reproductive rights" against the Supreme Court's ruling.

He told protesters: "We are here to send these folks a message: 'Not on our watch' ... We're going to stand together in one voice and take a stand on behalf of women and families throughout the country. We're going to stand against all these attempts to restrict a woman's right to choose, and we will win."

Mr Trump and his Republican allies have stacked benches in lower courts across the US, giving conservative governors and lawmakers a path to uphold restrictive abortion legislation in their states in the hopes of mounting a challenge to the foundational Roe v Wade decision at the Supreme Court.

The moves have galvanised abortion rights groups across the South, which have rallied at the capitol and joined groups from across the US, as well as anti-abortion protests that have gained the president's support.