After 50 years of the landmark legislation, the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion. In a 5-3 decision, written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, the Court ruled that Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 decision that reaffirmed the right to abortion, were wrong and had to be be overturned.
The decision announced Friday morning, almost mirrors the leaked draft that ignited a political firestorm in early May.
“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote in the ruling.
The decision to overturn Roe, was ultimately decided by five conservative justices: Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Samuel Alito. Chief Justice John Roberts did not vote as a concurring opinion, writing separately to say he would have upheld the Mississippi law but was not in agreeance with the sweeping proclamation that Roe v. Wade should be overturned.
The court’s remaining three liberal justices—Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan—issued a jointly authored dissent.
Half of the current conservative justices—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett—were appointed by former President Donald Trump. All three justices said during their confirmation hearing that they would uphold Roe v. Wade.
The Court argued that the initial bill was “egregiously wrong from the start.” Alito believed the reasoning from the 1973 ruling was weak and had damaging consequences.
Nearly half the states in the country have already indicated they would move to ban the procedure. Thirteen states have “trigger bans,” designed to take effect as soon as Roe was overturned but will instead, ban the abortion within 30 days of the ruling. However, Louisiana is the only trigger ban state to immediately go into effect, meaning all three of Louisiana’s remaining abortion clinics will immediately shut down. Eighteen states, mostly in the eastern and western the seaboard, preemptively passed legislation to keep abortion legal. Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina are likely to ban abortions. The remaining states are uncertain.
