KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A day after a draft of a Supreme Court opinion leaked that threatened access to abortion treatments, activists organized a demonstration in downtown Knoxville.
The draft would effectively overrule the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, made in 1973, which guaranteed people would have access to abortion treatments across the U.S. In it, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start."
In response, groups across Knoxville organized demonstrations to show support for defending people's access to abortion treatments. A major one was organized by the Women's March Coalition and the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health.
It was called the "Knoxville Rally to Defend Roe. Wade" and people first started gathering at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Courthouse, located on Market Street.
Other groups gathered in spots across the city.
"Yesterday's leak makes it clear that our deepest fears are coming true. We are at a crisis moment for abortion access," organizers said on social media. "The court seems prepared to end the constitutional right to abortion. This outcome is as dangerous as it is unprecedented, and will open the floodgates for states across the country to ban abortion."
In Tennessee, several laws would automatically go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned, called "trigger laws," which would effectively prohibit abortion treatments in the state.
Around 100 people gathered at the courthouse for the rally, according to reporters there. It started at 5 p.m.