WATCH: Pro-abortion students protest Justice Samuel Alito

Pro-abortion students protested a virtual speech Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito gave at George Mason University’s Arlington campus on Thursday. 

The students were then met by pro-life counter-protesters. 

“I’m out here because abortion is a very important issue to me, for women’s health, for protecting a woman’s right to choose, and I believe that it is a constitutional right that everybody should be able to have an abortion under law,” a pro-abortion student who identified as Lucas told Campus Reform. 

George Mason University Students for Life President Ken Meekins told Campus Reform that his group decided to counter-protest to represent the pro-life voices at GMU “despite the liberal culture.”

“We’re just here to make sure our voices are heard,” Meekins said. 

Meekins is also a Campus Reform correspondent.

[RELATED: WATCH: Pro-abortion and pro-life protestors gather outside the Supreme Court]

Students bussed in from the university’s main Fairfax campus ahead of Alito’s speech for the annual Scalia Forum.

 GMU Assistant Vice President of Communications Robin Parker told Campus Reform that Alito’s keynote was arranged in November 2021.

“At George Mason University we include and embrace a multitude of people and ideas in everything we do and protect the freedom of all members of our community to seek truth and express their views,” Parker said. 

One pro-choice organizer, who identified herself as Molly, said that Alito should not have been welcomed to campus.

”We want people to see that students notice when the school prioritizes speakers and status over the rights and comfort of their students,” she said.

Meekins held a different opinion, telling Campus Reform that his group wanted Alito to know that “he’s welcome to speak here.”

Regardless, the protest persisted with dozens of pro-choice students and community members chanting and waving signs outside of the Antonin Scalia Law School. 

Common pro-abortion slogans were featured including “abortion is health care” and “my body my choice,” while others got more creative.

“Mandatory vasectomies. Come on guys, lets save lives!” one sign read. 

Another compared the abortion debate to wearing a face mask, stating “they won’t make a 12 year old wear a mask to school but they will force her to have a baby.”

The protest was scheduled from 4:00 to 5:30 PM, and protesters had the opportunity to speak using a designated megaphone. 

The pro-choice movement was met with opposition not long after, however, as a handful of pro-life students appeared with signs expressing support for Alito and overturning Roe v. Wade. 

“We [love] Justice Alito Cuz We [love] Life. #OverturnRow,” one counter-protesters sign said.

Another called out the abortion industry for lying to women for profit, reading “Ladies, the abortion industry is LYING to YOU for $$$.”

The two groups clashed in a series of chants, both using megaphones and yelling phrases that supported their side of the aisle.

Campus Reform was on the ground during the protest. 

[RELATED: Pro-abortion vandalism reported near universities as pro-life students face harassment]

“We will not go back,” and “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Justice Alito Has Got to go” were fired from the tent that housed the pro-choice attendees, while the pro-life students shouted back “Abortion is violence,” “Pro-Choice that’s a lie babies never choose to die,” and “equality, non-violence, and non-discrimination.”

Both sides stayed on their respective sides of the square. 

According to leaders from both sides of the debate, they all wanted to leave campus with a lasting message.

Meekins told Campus Reform that his group wanted to show that the pro-choice argument is not the only voice on campus and that “there are more people who agree with us.”

He cited a recent Rasmussen poll that states 48% of likely voters “approve” of overturning Roe v. Wade while 45% disagree.

“You see in the media, you see all these protests, you see all these things,” Meekins continued. “You see all these people who were all so angry and all this violence and stuff, but that is not what the majority of the country wants.”

Campus Reform recently reported on the recent violent attacks prompted by pro-abortion rallies, including two incidents of vandalism near Portland State University and Colorado State University.

[RELATED: 5 times pro-life advocates fought for their beliefs on campus in 2021]

The Scalia Forum is an annual event hosted by the Antonin Scalia Law School. 

The event is intended to “preserve the legacy of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia through in-depth analysis and thoughtful commentary on the contemporary influence of his judicial philosophy.”

Alito’s keynote struck a nerve with students as he was the author of the leaked majority draft opinion that appears to show the court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

Campus Reform contacted the law school for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.

Follow @Alexaschwerha1 on Twitter