(Bloomberg) -- Within hours of a report that the U.S. Supreme Court was on the verge of overturning the decision that enshrined abortion rights, protesters appeared outside the neoclassical building in Washington where the nine justices preside.
A District of Columbia traffic advisory late Monday night reported that “First Amendment activity” had closed First Street Northeast. There were no reports of arrests.
Some 200 demonstrators gathered in front of the court, Axios reported, adding that most, although not all, had gone there to express support for abortion rights.
Supreme Court Draft Ruling Rejects Abortion Rights: Politico
They converged on the court after Politico reported it had obtained a draft majority opinion that would invalidate the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which declared abortion to be a constitutional right.
The draft was written by Justice Samuel Alito and had at least preliminary support from four other Republican-appointed justices, Politico said. The court is scheduled to rule by July in the case.
Lynn Fitch, the Republican Mississippi attorney general whose appeal had called on the court to overturn Roe, tweeted that the veracity of the linked opinion can't be verified. She said the state would “let the Supreme Court speak for itself and wait for the court's official opinion.”
It remained unclear just how significant protests might be before an actual decision is announced. But a day after President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January 2017, hundreds of thousands of people took part in Women's Marches in Washington, New York and other cities. Abortion rights were a focus of those massive protests.
Trump had promised to nominate Supreme Court justices who would overturn the Roe decision, and placed three conservatives on the court.
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