WASHINGTON — On Saturday, hundreds of protesters risked arrest by crossing the barricade directly in front of the White House to make sure their voices and opinions about abortions were heard.
WUSA9 spoke with a number of people on both sides of the argument about what they think should happen going forward.
Despite the rain, hundreds of people like Natasha Valentine gathered in protest of the accessibility to abortion.
“If women don't have rights, no one has rights,” Valentine said.
She was one of many who wanted to be heard. Protesters met at Franklin Square, but were met with counter protesters across the street.
Dwayne Stewart says he’s an evangelist. “This is a spiritual battle, that even though you don't see and those people who want that choice, don't see that as a spiritual battle. And if it's a sin against God, and I'm standing with the kingdom of God, then I'm going to speak against anything that's considered sin and unrighteousness in God's eyes,” Stewart said.
Frustrated with Stewart's message, Rebecca Lamar said she came from North Carolina to protest after having a challenging pregnancy.
“If I had had another baby, I would have been in really serious medical trouble. And where I live, you have to have spousal consent to have a tubal but then I had to secretly make a plan with my friends to get an abortion if I needed to. And so I'm here to support every single woman who could end up dying,”
As the rain came down, protesters marched to the White House, emotions ran high. Kristin Walker said religious beliefs shouldn’t be a part of the conversation.
“Every individual has a different story. Every abortion isn't about a woman that was promiscuous and accidentally got pregnant. She's not using abortion as contraception. Abortion can mean so many different things,” Walker said.