NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Police Department says it is expecting "respectful" gatherings and protests in the city after the Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion on Friday.
In a statement published on the department's social media pages, the NOPD said that it encourages citizens to exercise their Constitutional rights to assemble to make their voices heard.
"We also fully expect that everyone wishing to do so will be peaceful, non-violent, and respectful of their fellow citizens," the police department said. "Learning from the protests over the murder of George Floyd two summers ago, we have faith that you will set another positive example for the rest of the country."
The Supreme Court's conservative majority overturned the court's landmark abortion cases on Friday. The outcome overturning Roe v. Wade is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, including Louisiana.
As of Friday morning, all three of Louisiana's remaining abortion clinics were closed, according to state Rep. Mandie Landry. In New Orleans, Women's Health Care Center shut its doors shortly after the ruling was published. The clinic locked its doors around 11 a.m. and workers and staff departed.
Landry said the closest state where Louisiana women could obtain an abortion now is Illinois.
The decision, unthinkable just a few years ago, was the culmination of decades of efforts by abortion opponents, made possible by an emboldened right side of the court that has been fortified by three appointees of former President Donald Trump.
The ruling came more than a month after the stunning leak of a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
