Anti-abortion and abortion rights protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court on Monday night after a report was published showing a draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.
Politico obtained a copy of the draft majority opinion in an unprecedented leak for the U.S.’s highest court. Alito’s opinion called the decision in the landmark abortion rights case “egregiously wrong.”
Soon after the report was published, barriers were erected outside the Supreme Court and hundreds gathered in protest.
Videos circulating online show pro-abortion advocates with signs supporting Planned Parenthood and chanting for abortion rights.
“The first line in the draft is that this is a moral issue. If it’s a moral issue, you shouldn’t be depriving us of our choice,” protester Annie McDonnell, a student at George Washington University, told Reuters.
Anti-abortion advocates also turned out in smaller numbers and were seen praying and chanting for the end of abortion with signs declaring themselves “pro-life.”
“I’ve been praying for this as long as I’ve understood what a baby was,” an anti-abortion advocate told NBC Washington. “It’s a big deal. Life begins at conception.”
Anti-abortion and pro-abortion protesters were seen clashing outside the Supreme Court building, with anti-abortion advocates yelling “Hey hey! Ho ho! Roe v. Wade has got to go!” and pro-abortion advocates responding “Hey hey! Ho ho! Sexist fascists have to go!”
Some protesters stayed at the Supreme Court until after midnight, with the protesters overwhelmingly against the leaked court’s decision.
The leak suggests at least five judges have sided against Roe v. Wade on the majority conservative court. The draft opinion Politico posted was in early stages of deliberations and could possibly change before a final decision is expected to be released this summer.
Democrats bemoaned the reported decision of the court while Republicans decried the unprecedented leak, saying it was an attempt to get the judges to change their mind before the final decision on the case is made.
