What's going on?

In a landmark decision that overturns 50 years of constitutional protections on one of the most controversial and fiercely contested issues in American politics, the Supreme Court of US has eliminated the right to an abortion.

The conservative-dominated court declared that individual states can now permit or restrict the procedure on their own, overturning the historic "Roe v. Wade" ruling from 1973 that established a woman's right to an abortion.

The Ruling

"The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives," the US Supreme Court said.

In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito stated that "abortion presents a profound moral issue on which Americans hold sharply conflicting views."

"The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion," he added.

The three liberal judges on the panel, however, objected.

After decades of advocacy by abortion opponents, the decision to eliminate access to abortion in the US has been made. The decision was made more than a month after Justice Samuel Alito's drafted opinion was leaked, indicating that the US Supreme Court was ready to make this momentous ruling.

According to Justice Alito's final opinion, which was published on June 24, 2022, the 1992 rulings Roe and Planned Parenthood vs Casey, which upheld the right to an abortion, were wrong when they were made and must be overturned.

Justice Alito was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett; with the latter three justices being appointed by former President Trump.

Women are now forced to travel great distances to states that still allow abortions as a result of the Supreme Court's contentious decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

But, what is Roe v. Wade? Let's dive in

The case known by the name Roe v. Wade is the one that resulted in the US Supreme Court's historic decision and paved the way for the establishment of an abortion right as a constitutional right in the US. The majority opinion at the time held that women had a complete right to an abortion in the first trimester of their pregnancy.

The 1973 case which is often referred to as just ‘Roe’ comes from Jane Roe, a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey. She was a 22-year-old unmarried, unemployed and pregnant for the third time when she decided to have an abortion in Texas. In a one-of-a-kind decision, the US Supreme Court ruled in her favour at that time; however, McCorvey had already given birth to a girl who she had placed for adoption.

Meanwhile, Wade refers to Henry Wade, the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas, and it was his responsibility to enforce state law against abortion even if it endangered Roe's life, according to Roe.

Thus McCorvey sued Wade when she sought an abortion in a state prohibiting the same.

The landmark ruling of 1973

McCorvey, 22, claimed that the Texas abortion law was unconstitutionally vague and violated her constitutionally guaranteed right to personal privacy. The court ruled in her favour after presenting the jury with questions from the US Constitution recognising a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion.

With a 7-2 majority, Justice Harry Blackmun delivered the court's ruling that abortion was a woman's constitutional right.

The court ruled in 1973 that a woman's decision to have an abortion during the first trimester, or three months of pregnancy, must be left to her choice.

Roe v. Wade overturned | Victory for religious right

After fifty years, the historic Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned on June 24.

It marks the religious right's 50-year battle against abortion, but the anti-abortion group is anticipated to continue pushing for an absolute nationwide ban.

The case before the court was a Mississippi law that would limit abortion to 15 weeks, but some justices signalled they were willing to go further during the case's hearing in December.

Following the Supreme Court's decision, 13 states have passed so-called "trigger laws" that prohibit abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Ten additional states have pre-1973 rules that might be implemented or legislation that would prohibit abortion after six weeks when many women are not even aware they are pregnant.

States to restrict abortion

Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, abortion-ban legislation is poised to take effect in Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Idaho, Missouri, South Dakota, Utah, Kentucky, North Dakota, Tennessee, Wyoming, and Louisiana.

Now, what?

Women in states with stringent anti-abortion laws will have to either continue their pregnancy, get a secret abortion or obtain abortion pills, or go to another state where the abortion is still legal.

Anticipating an inflow, many Democratic-controlled states have taken steps to facilitate abortion, and clinics have also shifted their resources.

Travel is expensive, and abortion rights advocates claim abortion restrictions would disproportionately affect poor women, many of whom are Black or Hispanic.

President Joe Biden on 'sad day' for country

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalised abortion nationwide, President Joe Biden on June 24 said that “it’s a sad day for the court and the country."

“Now with Roe gone, let’s be very clear, the health and life of women across this nation are now at risk,” he said.

He further added, “the court has done what it’s never done before _ expressly taking away a constitutional right that is so fundamental to so many Americans."

"The court is basically pushing America back 150 years," he continued.

Biden urged Congress to take steps to enshrine abortion rights into federal law, emphasising the necessity of Americans voting for pro-abortion politicians in upcoming elections.

Future course of action

Since a draft of the decision surfaced in May, the White House has been preparing for this moment. Officials have been meeting with state leaders, advocates, health care experts, and others to plan for a post-Roe v. Wade world.

Biden's plans will now be put to the test in terms of politics and policy. Biden stated that his government will protect a woman's right to obtain an abortion across state lines.