Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Ending Decades of Federal Abortion Rights
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S. in 1973. The court issued the decision in a 5-4 ruling.
The controversial but expected ruling gives individual states power to set their own abortion laws without concern of running afoul of Roe, which had permitted abortions during the first two trimesters of pregnancy.
Almost half the states are expected to outlaw or severely restrict abortion as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision, which is related to a highly restrictive new Mississippi abortion law. The laws will affect tens of millions of people around the country, who may have to cross state lines to seek reproductive health care.
Other states plan to maintain more liberal rules governing the termination of pregnancies.
Supporters of abortion rights immediately condemned the ruling, while abortion opponents praised a decision they had long hoped for and worked to ensure. Protesters descended on the Supreme Court to speak out both for and against a decision that will upend decades of precedent in the U.S.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion that overturned Roe, and also tossed out a 1992 Supreme Court decision upholding abortion rights in a case known as Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Alito was joined by four other conservatives on the high court. Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the majority to uphold the Mississippi abortion restrictions but did not approve overturning Roe altogether.
The majority also included three justices appointed by former President Donald Trump: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
The court’s three liberal justices filed a dissenting opinion. The dissenting justices said the majority overruled Roe and Casey for one reason: because it had the votes to discard them.
In the majority opinion, Alito wrote, “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” and said the Constitution makes no reference to abortion. He also said any right not mentioned must be “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition” and “implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.” He wrote that it is time to return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.
In the dissent, the liberal justices argued the majority allows states to ban abortion from conception onward because it does not think forced childbirth implicates a woman’s rights to equality and freedom.
In a concurring opinion, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that in light of the rationale for overturning Roe, the Supreme Court should reconsider its rulings in three other past cases dealing with birth control and constitutional rights related to gay people’s sex and marriage.
Friday’s decision came a day after the Supreme Court invalidated a century-old New York law that made it very difficult for people to obtain a license to carry a gun outside of their homes.
The case that triggered Roe’s demise is Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which is related to a Mississippi law that banned nearly all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Dobbs was described as the most significant and controversial dispute of the court’s term.
The leak of a draft of the majority opinion in early May sent shockwaves across the country and galvanized activists on both sides. The publication of the draft opinion sparked protests from abortion-rights supporters, who were concerned about how the decision would impact patients and providers as states gear up to restrict abortions or ban them outright.
Republican lawmakers initially focused more on the leak itself than on what it revealed. They also criticized protests outside the homes of some conservative justices, accusing activists of trying to intimidate the court.
After the leak, tall fencing was set up around the court building, and Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the U.S. Marshals Service to help ensure the Justices’ safety.
