Roe v. Wade is literally as old as I am. (They began arguments 1 month after I was born.) Today, in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, thus overruling Roe v. Wade (and Planned Parenthood v. Casey).
Afterwards, President Biden tweeted:
Today is a very solemn moment for the United States.
The Supreme Court expressly took away a Constitutional right from the American people that it had already recognized. They simply took it away. That’s never been done to a right that is so important to so many Americans.
@POTUS on Twitter, June 24, 2022
And former President Obama tweeted this:
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.
@BarackObama on Twitter, June 24, 2022
What Does This Mean?
The overturning of Roe v. Wade means abortion is no longer protected under the Constitution, and each state can decide if abortion is illegal in their state. 26 states have laws indicating that they intend to ban abortions: 13 state have “trigger laws” (abortion will almost immediately be banned with Roe no longer in effect) [Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming], 9 states have pre-Roe bans (laws enacted before 1973 and never removed) [Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin], and 4 states are likely to ban abortion [Florida, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska] (Source: Guttmacher Institute, taken June 25, 2022).
