On Friday, the Supreme Court overturned its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade that established the right to an abortion. The ruling marks a seismic shift in abortion law and will usher in new rules limiting or banning access to the procedure in half of the states, in some places immediately.
The ruling came in a case involving a Mississippi law that banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and the court reversed the decision of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which blocked the measure.
The decision undoes nearly 50 years of precedent and will have sweeping ramifications for women, trans men, and nonbinary people across the country as abortion rights are curtailed, particularly in GOP-led states in the South and Midwest, and lead to a patchwork of laws absent the constitutional protection. Thirteen states have so-called "trigger laws" on the books, in which abortion will swiftly be outlawed in most cases with Roe overturned.
People became aware of the possible ruling back in May, when Politico revealed a draft by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that would strike down Roe v. Wade. Many spoke out against the draft, including former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, "Savior Complex" singer Phoebe Bridgers and more.
With the decision official, political figures and Hollywood voices have risen to speak out against the ruling, including the Obamas.
"Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans," Barack said in a statement shared to Twitter.
"Across the country, states have already passed bills restricting choice. If you’re looking for ways to respond, @PPFA, @USOWomen, and many other groups have been sounding the alarm on this issue for years—and will continue to be on the front lines of this fight," he continued. "For more than a month, we’ve known this day was coming—but that doesn’t make it any less devastating."
Michelle also tweeted her statement, writing, "I am heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies. "I am heartbroken that we may now be destined to learn the painful lessons of a time before Roe was made law of the land -- a time when women risked losing their lives getting illegal abortions. A time when the government denied women control over their reproductive functions, forced them to move forward with pregnancies they didn't want, and then abandoned them once their babies were born. This is what our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers lived through, and now here we are again."
Here are more reactions to the Supreme Court's decision.
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