WASHINGTON — Dozens of protesters made their way to the steps in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday after a draft advisory leaked overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Armed with megaphones, placards, buttons and at least one letterpress for rapid poster production, groups for and against abortion rights demonstrated and occasionally confronted each other in barricaded courts.
“Pro-choice is a lie, babies don’t choose to die,” a crowd of anti-abortion activists chanted.
“Forbid our body” and “my body, my choice”, replied their counterparts.
The size of the crowd gradually grew throughout the day. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, gave a short speech denounce the “extremist Supreme Court”.
DailyExpertNews spoke to some protesters. Here’s how she described the moment.
“I was surprised by the nature of the decision, but not by the substance. I think what we’re seeing is 50 years of religious transgression by the Catholic bishops in the U.S. government, in the Supreme Court, in Congress, and last night we happened to see it in the Supreme Court,” said Ashley Wilson, 32, the communications director for Catholics for Choice.
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The upcoming Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization could be the most sweeping for women’s access to abortion since 1973.
“When we landed at DCA, turned on our phones, we saw the news of the Supreme Court leak and, you know, a range of emotions. As soon as we could, we joined our colleagues and friends and booked to come to the rally last night to celebrate and of course we got three hours of sleep and returned here in the morning,” said Robert Buird, 29, a activist at Pro-Life San Francisco.
He added: “To support democracy means recognizing the voice of people in every state, and to support every valid concept of human rights means recognizing every human being, every member of the human species. . You can’t ignore some people just because they are smaller and less mature.”
“The Supreme Court is out of step to reverse multiple rulings, Casey v. Planned Parenthood and also Roe v. Wade. But lawmakers also need to act on this because we had a chance to enact a federal law that will protect reproductive choice and it has stalled. So I really hope this motivates lawmakers to get something through before midterms,” said Izzy Rowland, 19, a college student in Washington, DC. She continued: “And of course you have to have the whips in to get the party in shape. And it shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but that’s how it’s resolved.”
“I was angry about the leak. And I think it’s the same institution that I felt could stay away from the politics of it. So I guess I was very disappointed to see who leaked it. It was a personal matter, I think, to release it because they thought they could influence the decision. So I guess that was just wrong. And then my second was, you know, we have to get this work done,” said Kristen Day, 53, the executive director of Democrats for Life of America.
“I love women,” she added. “We can have a baby, have a job and go to school, and we can do all those things. So let’s not tell them when they can’t. And I have a feeling that sometimes when it comes to abortion, they’ll say you can’t do any of those things — unless you’ve had an abortion and a child is going to hold you back somehow. I just don’t believe that.”
“Having the right to your own body is so implicitly linked to all the other things we fight for that if we ban abortion, we effectively control people of color and especially transgender people – I don’t want to leave anyone out of this debate – but it is freedom to just exist,” said Nat McGartland, 27, a graduate student at the University of Maryland.