By Deborah Gembara and Julio-Cesar Chavez

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Protesters from both sides of the U.S. Abortion debate gathered outside the Supreme Court Building on Tuesday to chant, pray and hold signs after the release of a draft opinion by the court, which would invalidate the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Dozens of people congregated on the sidewalk, just past the marble-barricaded steps of the U.S. Capitol. They loudly but calmly voiced support and opposition for ending the constitutional right to abort.

As they beat drums on megaphones, early in the morning, pro-abortion demonstrators outnumbered their adversaries.

Some knelt in prayer.

In support of Roe, a man wearing a pink sweatshirt tried unsuccessfully to calm down anti-Roe protesters by holding his hands over their megaphones.

Proponents of abortion rights shouted, “Off our bodies!” and “abortion saves life.” Other signs read, “Abortion can be healthcare” or “Abortion shouldn’t be a dirty term.” The sign of a Roman Catholic group supporting abortion access stated that they would not take my civil rights.

Chelsea White, a Roe v. Wade fan and outsider to the court said that “I believe it can be overturned” “And then there will be backalley abortions. Abortion is not banned because it has always been legal. They will not stop it. Their only goal is to endanger women’s lives.

It seemed that the protests at court were a small prelude to larger rallies in other cities such as New York and Los Angeles by supporters of abortion rights.

The National Women’s March Organisation urged women to sign up with their families to join afternoon demonstrations at federal buildings and courts all over the country, promoting #BansOffOurBodies on social media.

In San Francisco, a man who claimed to be the “Pro-Life Spiderman”, climbed a skyscraper and posted footage on Instagram. This was one of many anti-abortion acts that took place earlier today. The man was reported by local news media to have been taken into police custody.