When Cockburn took a rainy-day stroll past the United States Supreme Court on Thursday, he didn’t expect to see many people. To his surprise, there were several protesters outside, anticipating a decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which could overturn Roe v. Wade.

Cockburn decided to stop and chat with both pro-life and pro-choice demonstrators, briefly catching interviews between shouting matches laced with obscenities and references to genitalia.

“Roe is a barbaric remnant of a eugenic past. [It’s] responsible for the murder of 60 million babies,” said Terrisa Bukovinac, the founder and executive director of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising.“I believe in equity, nonviolence, and nondiscrimination. We can’t build a better world on top of dead babies.” Bukovina was one of two women who recently took home a box that was being shipped away from a Planned Parenthood clinic and found five dead babies inside.

Cockburn was astonished to see that a plurality of pro-life protesters were openly progressive or waved banners touting the Democratic Party. One of them, John Quinn, a 26-year-old affiliate of Democrats for Life, said, “We want to have a secular conversation. It is important to support women, but abortion is a violent solution, and it doesn’t solve poverty.”

Other protestors included Sam Goldman, an initiator for RiseUp4AbortionRights.org (RU4AR), who stressed her group’s non-violent approach amid nationwide threats from the far-left extremist group Jane’s Revenge. Goldman discussed RU4AR’s goals:

We’ve allowed decades of fighting behind a line of “safe, legal, and rare,” and putting our hopes and dreams and futures really in the Democratic Party, which has been on a platform of “safe, legal, and rare.” They’ve consistently collaborated or capitulated to Christian fascists every step of the way. Including the week after the draft, when Pelosi went to Texas to campaign for a pro-life Democrat. It matters that we say “abortion on demand without apology,” because there’s nothing wrong with getting an abortion. Abortions are wonderful.

Cockburn is excited to see the results of the Dobbs case. He’s also ready to order up an Irish coffee to warm his rain-soaked spirits.