Severino: Leftists target churches as 'proxy' for SCOTUS to frame anti-Roe position as religious, not legal

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Ever since a draft Supreme Court opinion indicated the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade, pro-choice activists have been protesting – not just at the Supreme Court building, but at justices' homes, as well as at Catholic churches.

A group known as Ruth Sent Us has promoted both, posting a map with the locations of conservative justices’ houses, as well as encouraging church protests.

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"Whether you’re a ‘Catholic for Choice’, ex-Catholic, of other or no faith, recognize that six extremist Catholics set out to overturn Roe. Stand at or in a local Catholic Church Sun May 8," the group tweeted May 3.

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"Stuff your rosaries and your weaponized prayer. We will remain outraged after this weekend, so keep praying," they posted May 7. "We’ll be burning the Eucharist to show our disgust for the abuse Catholic Churches have condoned for centuries."

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Carrie Severino, president of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, spoke out against both avenues of protest, while arguing that the targeting of churches is part of an agenda of framing the reversal of Roe v. Wade as something other than legally based.

Pro-life activists and church members are confronted by a pro-choice activist outside of a Catholic church in downtown Manhattan on May 7, 2022. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

"I think the left is using it as a proxy," Severino said in an interview with Fox News, arguing that leftists are trying to frame the issue as justices "legislating their personal moral values." Severino said this idea is false.

"Look at the opinion and tell me where in the opinion you can see they’re diverging from the logical arguments to go to their actual moral faith," she said, adding that while this is a legal and not religious act, protesters are "lashing out not only at the justices but also are lashing out at churches and particularly Catholic churches."

Severino also pointed out that when it comes to the Supreme Court justices, conservative and Catholic are not interchangeable, as both liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch were raised Catholic but neither currently practices.

Regarding the demonstrations at the justices’ homes, Severino noted that this goes beyond mere protest.

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"There’s regular protest at the Supreme Court building, I think that’s absolutely appropriate. No one would suggest otherwise," Severino said. By going to the individual justices’ homes, however, "there’s an implicit threat there."

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Despite this, the Biden administration has not only failed to condemn the protests, but has endorsed them. Severino said it is "shocking" that the White House has not only not condemned the protests but also has encouraged them. She called out the White House for its inability "to clarify the difference between expressing your First Amendment right to peaceably assemble, to express your opinions, from protests at a justice’s private residence which seem to be clearly designed to affect the direction of a pending Supreme Court case."

Severino added that it "was really shocking" to hear White House press secretary Jen Psaki give support to the protests. At the same time, she noted that Psaki’s own history as a senior adviser for Demand Justice, a leftist group that calls for radical Supreme Court reform, could explain why the Biden administration is not taking a stronger stance against the demonstrations.