Former VP Pence says 'Roe must go' in Spartanburg; protesters rally for abortion rights

Former Vice President and staunch anti-abortionist Mike Pence told an audience of 1,250 people in Spartanburg Thursday evening to pray that conservative Supreme Court justices who've been targeted by abortion rights protesters stand firm and overturn Roe v. Wade.

"Our Supreme Court has a chance to undo that historic wrong once and for all," Pence said of the landmark 1973 court decision that legalized abortion.

"Roe must go," he added, to the cheers inside a packed Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, site of the Carolina Pregnancy Center's annual Spring Gala.

Updates: Mike Pence speaks in front of 1,250 in Spartanburg. Nearly 150 protest for abortion rights

Meanwhile, outside the auditorium, approximately 150 sign-carrying abortion rights protesters chanted and held up signs.

Protester: 'My body, my choice'

Signs included "My body, my choice," "Honk 4 choice," "Honk if you support women," "Not your handmaiden" and "Don't trust me with a choice – but with a child?"

"I’m here because I don’t believe anybody should have control of my body, but me,” said one protester, University of South Carolina student Jasmine Webber.

Abortion rallies nationwide: 'It's a really scary time': Abortion rights protesters rally across US after Supreme Court draft leak

Thursday's event – planned months in advance – came just three days after a leaked draft was published by Politico, suggesting Roe v. Wade will be overturned by the Supreme Court.

"This has been a momentous week in the cause of of life," Pence said. "I believe with all my heart that life is winning in America. The Supreme Court will not be intimidated."

Pence on leak: 'Undermines the judiciary'

Prior to the event, Pence addressed the leaked draft after touring Carolina Pregnancy Center's new mobile ultrasound unit.

“The leak of a draft opinion is the Supreme Court of the United States really undermines the judiciary of the United States," Pence said. "I welcome Chief Justice Roberts’ assurance that it will not affect the outcome of the court and I’m confident that it won’t," Pence said.

At the event, Pence said he agrees with the content of the draft that states should be the ones to determine abortion's legality.

Many prominent Republican elected officials and party leaders attended, including U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, whom Pence praised for getting conservative justices appointed to the Supreme Court under former President Trump.

"It is a sad day for the Supreme Court and a dangerous day for the Rule of Law. The radical assault on our institutions and the Constitution itself has reached a new level with the release of a draft opinion on a major issue facing the Court," Graham Tweeted Tuesday.

Pence praised Gov. McMaster for signing into law last year's fetal heartbeat bill that would ban most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Planned Parenthood sued, and in February a federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that temporarily blocks enforcement of South Carolina's law.

How many abortions are performed in US?: Rates have declined for decades.

Pence: 'Life is winning'

"Life is winning in America," he said. "Democrats would legalize abortion up to birth. Make no mistake about it, Democrats and the radical left will push for more extreme policies as long as Roe v. Wade is law of the land."

Outside, protesters arrived about a half-hour before the event started. Initially there were about a dozen protesters, but others joined and it soon grew to more than 130.

Graham: 'A sad day': South Carolina leaders react to possible overturn of Roe v. Wade after draft opinion leak

Protester: Overturning Roe v. Wade 'would be a tragedy'

“Back in the 1980s, I was a rape crisis director," Rev. Jean Batson-Turner of Boiling Springs said. "I referred individuals for abortions. They were safe. They were even free for awhile. And it is heartbreaking to me to see how far we came and then have to go back so far. We need this to do this for our daughters for our mothers, our grandmothers for everybody.”

Batson-Turner said the overturning of Roe v. Wade would be "a tragedy."

"Women’s groups will have to expend energy trying to fight back on that when they need to move forward,” Batson-Turner said.

Wofford College and University of South Carolina students were among the protesters.

USC students Mary Lavender, Aidan MacIntosh, and Jasmine Webber came to the protest while back in town from college.

“This is not going to stop abortions, like if it gets overturned, it's not going to stop them; it's just going to stop safe abortions,” MacIntosh said.

“I’m here because I don’t believe anybody should have control of my body, but me,” Webber said.

Alice Sutton, a retired healthcare worker, said the fight over Roe v. Wade "is about freedom."

"And like most Americans, I believe in freedom, freedom to choose your own religion, the freedom for women to vote for what we fought for in the early 20th century. The freedom for women to own property, the freedom for us to own our own bodies and to choose the healthcare that is best for us. And to stay healthy. If abortion is illegal, a lot of women will die. So this is really about freedom and individual choice,” Sutton said.

Root of this week's protests

This week's protests came after news outlet Politico on Monday reported that a copy of a Supreme Court draft ruling was released in a case challenging Mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks.

The draft opinion indicated the Supreme Court court would overturn the 1973 ruling on Roe v. Wade, stating that there is no constitutional right to abortion and that states would be left to regulate abortion. The court is expected to rule on the case before its term ends in late June or early July, according to the Associated Press.

The opinion's authenticity was confirmed Tuesday by Chief Justice John Roberts, but he forewarned that the opinion was not final, that justices could change their minds and that it was a draft opinion, not a decision.

Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com. Please support our coverage of Spartanburg County with a digital subscription. Contact Samantha Swann at sswann@shj.com.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: 'Roe must go,' Pence tells friendly Spartanburg audience amid protest