(WXYZ) — For 49 years Roe v. Wade guaranteed women the right to abortion.
Now, according to a premature document obtained by Politico, the future of the 1973 ruling is uncertain.
In the draft opinion, Justice Samuel Alito called the constitutional protections "egregiously wrong from the start."
Passionate reactions on both sides of the issue were almost immediate as crowds gathered outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.
"I am incredibly, incredibly optimistic. It looks like we're going to finally see justice for the unborn in this country and finally, Roe v. Wade will be overturned and recognized as the egregious, disastrous decision that it is," one protestor said.
"It's been a bedrock principle in American constitutional law for 40 some years and this is not the time to overturn it, so it's very distressing for me," another one adds.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer took to Twitter vowing to intervene.
"I'll fight like hell to protect abortion access in Michigan," she wrote.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald also chimed in with a promise "to protect the over half a million women in Oakland County and their right to make choices over their own bodies."
On the other side of the aisle, Republican Congresswoman Lisa McClain was excited about the announcement tweeting that if Roe v. Wade is overturned it would "save millions of innocent, unborn babies. I pray the Supreme Court makes it official and formally overturns this attack on the unborn."
The final opinion in this case is expected to be published in June.
Congress can pass a law reinstating federal abortion rights, but Democrats don't have the Republican support they need.
This issue will likely be central during midterm elections.
