The court’s sweeping decision, with a 6-3 conservative majority, was expected to dramatically change American life, with nearly half of the states considered certain or likely to ban abortion. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas suggested the court’s reasoning could also lead it to reconsider previous rulings protecting the right to contraception, legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide and invalidating state laws banning same-sex sexual relations.
“The Supreme Court made terrible decisions,” Democratic President Joe Biden said on Saturday.
He added that the White House would seek to monitor how states enforce bans, with administration officials previously signaling that they plan to fight state attempts to ban a pill used for medical abortion.
“The decision is enforced by the states,” Biden said. “My administration is going to focus on how they administer it and whether or not they are breaking other laws.”
Christian conservatives have long fought to overturn Roe, with Friday’s decision a cherished victory that is the result of a long campaign to appoint anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court. The decision received the support of the three judges appointed by former President Donald Trump.
He disagrees with broad public opinion. A Reuters/Ipsos poll last month found that about 71% of Americans – including majorities of Democrats and Republicans – said the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be left to a woman and her doctor, rather than be regulated by the government. This support is not absolute: 26% of those questioned said that abortion should be legal in all cases, while 10% said that it should be illegal in all cases, the majority favoring certain limits .
The decision will likely influence how voters behave in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when Biden’s Democrats stand to lose their razor-thin majorities in the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. Some party leaders hope the move appeals to suburban readers, though activists have expressed disappointment and demoralization at suffering such a defeat when their party holds total power in Washington.
“They can ask for a vote for more power, but don’t they already have Congress and the White House?” said Patricia Smith, a 24-year-old abortion rights advocate, who was heading to the Supreme Court to protest. “They haven’t managed to pass much in terms of legislation despite being in power, so what’s the point?”
The decision came just a day after the Court issued another landmark ruling finding that Americans have a constitutional right to carry a concealed weapon for self-protection – which led them to strike down a New York state law that set strict limits on concealed-carry permits.
Both rulings showed an aggressively conservative court ready to flex its muscles and reshape American life at a time when Congress is often deadlocked and struggling to pass major policy changes.
It also signaled that Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative who preferred to act incrementally, no longer has the power to slow down the court’s action. Roberts had voted to support the Mississippi abortion ban that was the subject of Friday’s ruling, but had not voted to overturn Roe himself.
TEARS AND ANGER THE “PINK HOUSE”
The case that led to Friday’s decision revolved around a Mississippi law that bars most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, before the fetus is viable outside the womb. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization, nicknamed the “Pink House” because of its bubblegum-colored paint, was cited in the case.
The clinic was still in operation Saturday morning, with escorts showing up at the state’s only abortion clinic around 5 a.m. to prepare for the arrival of patients.
Soon after, anti-abortion protesters began setting up ladders to look over the property’s fence and large posters bearing messages such as “abortion is murder”.
Coleman Boyd, 50, a longtime protester outside the clinic who frequently comes with his wife and children to shout the gospel into a megaphone, falsely told women waiting for their appointments that they were violating the law.
In truth, Mississippi law won’t close the clinic for nine days. Mr Boyd called the Roe ruling “historic” but “definitely not a victory”, saying he wanted to see an end to abortion in all states.
Protesters had flocked to the Supreme Court on Friday, which has been surrounded by an 8ft (2.4m) high black fence since shortly after a draft of the ruling overturning Roe leaked early last month. Others were expected on Saturday.
Elsewhere in the country, certain demonstrations degenerated. On Friday, Arizona police fired tear gas at abortion rights activists outside the state Senate.