Abortion Rights: SCOTUS Leak Sparks ‘Bans Off Our Bodies’ Protests Across US Cities

The recent Supreme Court draft leak, which has threatened to overturn Roe v. Wade, prompted thousands of Americans to take part in protests across the country this weekend to protect women’s reproductive choices and abortion rights.

On Saturday, more than 380 protests reportedly took place across the country, including in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., for the “Bans Off Our Bodies” demonstration. More demonstrations are expected as the issue gains heightened attention ahead of the midterm elections.

In the nation’s capital, roughly 20,000 demonstrators gathered in the rain at the Washington Monument before marching to the Supreme Court.

The protests come days after the Senate failed to pass a mostly symbolic bill that would codify Roe v. Wade.

Some rally attendees held signs of coat hangers to reflect on some of the dangerous methods people used for illegal abortions before the Roe v. Wade ruling, which was handed down in 1973 in a 7-2 vote. In 1992, the Court upheld Roe v. Wade and altered the standard with the landmark Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Among the protestors were reportedly about a half-dozen anti-abortion demonstrators that shouted opposing messages.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 700 women die each year from pregnancy-related complications, and 3 in 5 of those deaths are preventable.

Black and American Indian-Alaska Native women are about three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes compared to white women.

Should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, a majority of southern and midwestern could ban abortion. The move could force women to travel hundreds of miles to seek abortions in other states.