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Roe v. Wade has been overturned.
On Friday (June 24), the Supreme Court of the United States struck down Roe v. Wade, eliminating the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion and leaving the question of abortion’s legality to states.
“We end this opinion where we began. Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court’s opinion.
Abortion rights will now be determined by states unless Congress acts. Legislators in 13 states have already passed “trigger laws,” which are bans designed to go into effect if Roe is overturned and would immediately restrict access to abortions.
SCOTUS’ decision comes weeks after a draft of a majority opinion to strike down Roe v. Wade leaked publicly and caused nationwide outrage.
Celebrities including LeBron James said that the decision is about “power and control” while Michelle Obama said she is “heartbroken” for the people in the country who just “lost the fundamental rights to make informed decisions about their own bodies.”
