The US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v Wade, removing federal abortion protections and placing the responsibility for legalizing or banning the procedure upon individual states, in a decision handed down Friday.
“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 opinion.
The controversial decision stemmed from a Mississippi case – Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization – which centered on the constitutionality of a state law banning abortions after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. In appealing the case to the Supreme Court, the state explicitly sought the overturn of Roe v Wade.