Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade

The 1973 decision that prevented states from banning abortion was overturned Friday (6/24/2022) by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court ruled there is no Constitutional right to an abortion, there that each state will now decide how to handle the issue.

“The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives,” a syllabus of the ruling reads. 

The high court called the Roe v. Wade ruling “egregiously wrong.”

“Like the infamous decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, Roe was also egregiously wrong and on a collision course with the Constitution from the day it was decided,” the court said. “Casey perpetuated its errors, calling both sides of the national controversy to resolve their debate, but in doing so, Casey necessarily declared a winning side.

“Those on the losing side—those who sought to advance the State’s interest in fetal life—could no longer seek to persuade their elected representatives to adopt policies consistent with their views. The Court short-circuited the democratic process by closing it to the large number of Americans who disagreed with Roe.”

Legislation to restrict abortion had already been lined up in several states.