The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade in a 6-3 decision ending the Federal protection for abortion and giving states the power to decide whether or not to allow, limit or ban abortions in their states.
The ruling came in the court’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which Mississippi petitioned the High Court to strike down a lower court ruling that voided the law that banned abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Justice Samuel Alito, in the final opinion issued Friday, wrote that Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 decision that reaffirmed the right to abortion, were wrong the day they were decided and must be overturned.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote.
Authority to regulate abortion rests with the political branches, not the courts, Alito wrote.
“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.
“The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely — the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Alito wrote.
“That provision has been held to guarantee some rights that are not mentioned in the Constitution, but any such right must be ‘deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition’ and ’implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.”
“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” Alito wrote.
Joining Alito were Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney
The opinion comes after a leak of a draft opinion indicated that the High Court intended to strike down Roe v. Wade. That leaked sparked pro-abortionists to vandalize pro-life facilities and churches, protests were held outside the homes of conservative Justices and a suspect was charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In recent days signs have been put up around D.C. promising a ‘night of rage’ if Roe was indeed overturned.
At least 13 states have already passed “trigger laws,” which will immediately restrict access to abortion if Roe was overturned, however experts believe that half the states will pass laws to outlaw or restrict abortion as a result of the High Court’s decision
