Abortion battle shifts to US Congress and midterm elections

The battle over abortion rights in the US shifted rapidly to Congress and the midterm elections after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade and gutted the decades-old constitutional protection for women seeking to end a pregnancy.

As conservative states began to implement new abortion restrictions across the country in the wake of Friday’s ruling, Democrats on Capitol Hill and running for national office called for abortion rights to be protected through legislation, and sought to depict Republicans as dangerously out of step with average Americans heading into the November vote.

“The contrast between our parties could not be clearer: while Democrats are the party of freedom and safety, Republicans are the party of punishment and control,” Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House, said in a note to colleagues on Friday evening.

For Democrats and the White House, the opinion handed down by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court on Friday is a nightmare come true — upending years of efforts by the party to keep abortion rights entrenched and protected across the country.