Supreme Court Overturns Roe v Wade

On Friday, the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that established a woman's constitutional right to an abortion and made it legal nationwide.

The vote was 5-4 to overturn Roe. In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that "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." He was joined by four other conservative Justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Liberal Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan opposed, writing that "With sorrow—for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent."

In a separate 6-3 ruling, the court also upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts supported the Mississippi law, but not the additional step of overturning Roe. The ruling follows the May leak of the initial draft opinion that suggested Roe would be reversed. State governments will now be allowed to enforce their own laws on abortion legality.

The news was the top story for most news outlets Friday morning. Many reports from left- and center-rated sources focused on how abortion would likely be outlawed in as many as half the states. Reports from right-rated sources often focused on how the ruling is a win for religious conservatives.