'This takes us back to those terrible days:' Kitsap residents protest the end of Roe

Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court issued the 6-3 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, over 200 protesters gathered at the ends of the Manette Bridge in Bremerton, condemning the decision that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion that had lasted nearly 50 years.

The controversial decision sparked protests and celebrations in front of the Supreme Court building and in cities across the country.

In Bremerton, Madison Corn, 18, knew what sparked her desire to join protest: "Anger."

"I don't think people have really realized the gravity of this," she said. "A lot of women and people with uteruses are going to die."

Prior to the decision, 13 states had passed "trigger laws" — legislation that would ban abortion in all or most circumstances immediately after the Court overturned Roe. In several states, those laws have already gone into effect.

Corn said she worries for women who will now face fines or jail time if they get an abortion. She said she expects women will resort to dangerous abortion methods, like mugwort, an herb said to induce abortion, and other abortifacients.  

"People are going to be damn near killing themselves. Quite frankly, if somebody does not want to have a child, they are not going to have a child."

As Corn spoke, drivers blared car horns in support of the protesters. Through the evening, hundreds of drivers honked or gave thumbs-up signs in support. Some drivers honked in short, quiet bursts; others honked at full volume for several seconds. Rarely did protesters catch a moment of silence.

More:4 states on West Coast 'put welcome sign on door' for abortion access

Early in May, Politico leaked a draft of a majority opinion by Justice Samual Alito overturning Roe. The decision was not final at that time but implied what the court's final decision would be if no justice changed their vote. Like Friday's decision, the leak inspired nationwide demonstrations, including in Bremerton.

Corn said she was upset when hearing about the Politico leak but still held onto hope that the court would not overturn Roe. When Corn learned of Friday's decision, she cried in her car, she said, and continued to cry throughout the day at her job at the YMCA.

Just hours after the Supreme Court released the decision, Gov. Jay Inslee joined with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to issue a multi-state commitment "to defend access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion and contraceptives."

The statement included commitments to protect against out-of-state investigations and refuse non-fugitive extraditions if a patient seeks a legal abortion in Washington, California or Oregon if they are from a state where the procedure is illegal.

More:What Washington law on abortion says in wake of Supreme Court's Roe ruling

Eleanor Klauminzer, 80, and Ginny Sugimoto, 65, both lived before Roe v. Wade was established in 1973. They both said they view the upheaval of Roe as regressive and the wrong step for the U.S.

"This takes us back to those terrible days," Klauminzer said. Sugimoto agreed: "This is like a nightmare."

At the protest, chants of "November! Vote!" and "my body, my choice!" rang through the crowd. More people gathered, and one hour in, Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler appeared. "I'm here to show everyone I'm behind them and with them," he said.

Wendy Miller, 63, co-organized the protest as part of Indivisible Bremerton, a social justice organization founded in 2016.

Miller hadn't yet seen the northern terminus of the Manette Bridge, where the majority of the demonstrators were gathered, but she said she was already pleased with the energy of the protesters. 

Miller had cried when she saw the Supreme Court decision, she said. She said she felt stripped of her rights, and wondered how the decision would affect her granddaughters.

Miller was born in 1959, prior to Roe. "My mother was unwed. He (Miller's father) walked away," she said.

Growing up in the '60s and '70s, Miller said she saw her mother judged by others for her status as a single parent. When Miller's mother got pregnant, abortion was illegal, and Miller said she wishes her mother had the option.

"I love that I'm here," Miller paused. "But I wish that she had a choice."