Justine Sandoval has been fighting for abortion rights for more than a decade.

Throughout her time as an activist, she has spoken at and organized hundreds of abortion rights rallies. But she knew a battle would ensue if the U.S. Supreme Court targeted Roe v. Wade. 

On Monday night, she learned about the high court’s draft ruling that would overturn the landmark decision.  

“I’ve known this was coming,” Sandoval said. “I have gone to rallies for over a decade warning against the possible situation that we’re in right now.”

Sandoval was among roughly 100 people who gathered at the state Capitol early Tuesday to voice their support for abortion rights. Another gathering later Tuesday evening saw a much larger crowd, filling the lawn leading up to the Capitol. Demonstrators held signs saying “My body, my choice,” “Healthcare is a human right” and “We Will Not Go Backwards.”

Kaleigh Walsh brought a sign with metal coat hangers attached to it. She said at previous protests for abortion and women’s rights she thought it would be too much, but “at this point it kind of needs to be said.” 

“It’s not gonna stop. People are gonna find different ways, whether they’re throwing themselves downstairs, using hangers or going to somebody in an alley,” Walsh said. 

Many at the rallies said they were appalled when they learned of the leaked draft opinion, which the Supreme Court confirmed as authentic.

“I became sick to my stomach,” said Rebecca Brumbeloe of Denver.

“It honestly felt like there was a pit in my stomach,” said Tezcatli Diaz, a community organizer from Denver.

“It felt like a surprise, but at the same time, there was this feeling of sadness and deceit. Like why are we moving backwards?” said Alyssa Nilemo of Douglas County.

Nants Foley said while she personally wouldn’t choose to have an abortion, she said it’s only right for someone to make that decision on their own. 

“Women who don’t have the option to have safe abortions die, and that’s all there is to it,” Foley said. “I’m glad to be in Colorado, we’re a safe haven… but there’s lots of poor women that can’t travel and don’t have choices and options.” 

State Rep. Leslie Herod told the crowd that banning the procedure “will not stop abortions from happening, but they will decrease the number of safe abortions that happen and push people into the shadows.”

Herod, who is Black, added: “They will harm people who look like me and look like you disproportionately than those judges who vote to ban abortion.” 

The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that aims to promote a “high-performing health care system,” released a study in September that found abortion bans impact mothers of color more than white mothers when looking at the impact Texas’ abortion ban would have. 

“Black women in Texas have been more likely to experience unintended pregnancies. The result is that abortion is accessed more commonly among Black women,” the study read. “Unplanned pregnancies are associated with higher rates of maternal mortality, prematurity, and infant mortality. S.B. 8 will therefore compound the long-term damage of racism in the Texas health care system, disproportionately injuring Black mothers and their children.”

Link O’Brennan and Quereele Csaoi, who came with the Communist Party for America, said they came to fight for their own right to an abortion as transgender men with uteruses. 

“It really affects our health seriously when it is brushed over,” Csaoi said. “A lot of the arguments around abortion are centered around usually cis women and we get overlooked. Trans men are more likely to die due to medical negligence, especially when it comes to childbirth, abortion access and reproductive health in general.”

O’Brennan said he’s grateful to live in a state with a pro-abortion rights government, but that he wants to see more radical stances spread within Colorado and across other states. 

“Colorado is generally a safe place to be, and I feel for all of my fellow people with uteruses in states in the south particularly where the Republican government is not likely to protect their rights,” O’Brennan said.

Sandoval said the draft opinion might be the reality check people need to get out and protest. 

“I think this is the kind of thing that pushes people to come out and do this,” she said. “There has always been this idea that our rights were safe, but now this has shown the true reality of the situation and hopefully will light a fire under other people.”