'We will fight': Planned Parenthood protests as pro-life groups celebrate Supreme Court overturning 49 years of Roe
In a historic ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a case regarding whether to uphold Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The ruling means that individual states will now determine abortion laws, an outcome many in the pro-life movement see as a legal victory after 49 years of advocacy.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court's 6-3 ruling that "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."
Last May, the supreme court agreed to take the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case, determining whether to uphold Mississippi's 2018 Gestational Age Act. The act banned abortions after 15-weeks in the state.
Dr. Sacheen Carr-Ellis filed suit on behalf of Jackson Women's Health Organization, the state's sole abortion facility. Mississippi appealed to the Supreme Court after two lower courts blocked the law, as it conflicted with Roe's viability standard.
A leaked draft majority opinion published by Politico in May suggested the court was poised to overrule Roe and uphold Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban.
Read reactions from abortion activists who are outraged over the ruling and responses from pro-life leaders nationwide that are celebrating the justices' majority decision on the following pages.
