Protestor shares account of Supreme Court interruption
Nikki Enfield has established herself as a leader in D.C.'s abortion rights movement
Several women interrupted the Supreme Court earlier this month to protest the overturning of Roe. One of them shared their account with Repro Rights Now this past week.
Nikki Enfield, a mainstay in the abortion rights movement near D.C., described the group, which included a 71-year-old grandmother. She also discussed being jailed afterward. Enfield said they, “decided that this would be a powerful statement to stand in front of those people who thought they had the final say and to remind the American public and specifically American women that, in fact, we still live in a democracy. And we have the final say,”
A protestor had done a similar thing after Citizens United, the decision that permitted corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertising. So they thought it would make sense to do something on a similarly momentous precedent.
Pro-abortion activists Emily Paterson and Rolande Baker accompanied Enfield in the demonstration. They got in line at four in the morning. Only 50 people can enter the Supreme Court, and they made the cut.
“We pretended like we didn't know each other because we didn't want to set anybody off,” Enfield said. “And then we got placed in the viewing chambers.”
Supreme Court Justice John Roberts introduced a case and Patterson stood up and shouted that she denounced Dobbs. She was arrested and escorted out. Baker and Enfield repeated her action and were also shuttled out of the courtroom.
They went to D.C. Cellblock C afterward. It’s a notorious holding area that is known for inhumane conditions, with blood and feces on the wall.
Enfield said they did it to remind Americans that they live in a democracy.
“Things are really bleak. And things are really dire,” Enfield said. “And this court thinks that it has the final say in our rights, and it just doesn't. And so we urged women to vote to take their rights back.”