WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Some drivers honked their horns in solidarity, while others drove by in silence, as protestors lined the Williamsburg James City County Courthouse in protest over women's reproductive rights.
"The Dobbs decision was horrendous," said Heather Meaney-Allen, Williamsburg JCC Indivisible. "How anyone could look at this and say this is a great thing to happen is baffling."
Meaney-Allen was among the dozens of demonstrators who protested the second anniversary of Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization. The landmark case overturned Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey.
Instead of a federal constitutional right to an abortion, the issue was returned to the states for lawmakers to decide.
For those working in the pro-life movement, it is a case they celebrate.
"Lives are being saved, and now we can get into a real conversation about policy instead of relying on what judges said and now the people get to decide," said Todd Gathje, Vice President of Government Relations at the Family Foundation.
Following the fall of Roe v Wade, Virginia is the last Southern state to offer abortions through the second trimester (26 weeks) and does not require a waiting period.
Laws surrounding abortion can look vastly different, depending on what state a person is living in. This reversal has also led to some fears about accessing contraception and IVF treatment.
For those protesting outside of the courthouse, some say the issue is personal for them.
"Today is my grandson's 14-month-old birthday, he was born with invitro fertilization," said Shan Gill, a pro-choice protestor. "My daughter made a decision, one that she was entitled to make, and it gave me my grandson. It's also one that every family should be able to make."
Other pro-life groups addressed the Dobbs anniversary as more of a call to action.
Those with the Virginia Society for Human Life said Virginia's current laws put women's health in danger and called for more regulation of both abortion providers and abortion pills.
The organization released a statement reading in part: "Virginians must reject the extremism we have seen here since Dobbs. We must support the dozens of free women and child centered programs that have come into existence in the Commonwealth since Roe v Wade, and the many new ones being established since Dobbs."
However, both sides of the aisle seem to agree that abortion and the issues surrounding reproductive rights will be a decisive issue for voters come the November election.
Governor Glenn Youngkin has repeatedly indicated his support for a 15-week ban in Virginia, but Senate and House Democrats have defeated various attempts to change the state's laws.