Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

What was expected for months, if not years, happened Friday morning: The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The consequential opinion, which holds that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion, will transform the landscape of women’s reproductive health in America.

Going forward, abortion rights will be determined by states, unless Congress acts. Already, nearly half of the states have or will pass laws that ban abortion, while others have enacted strict measures regulating the procedure.

The ACLU of Oklahoma was quick to respond to what it called “a shameful ruling.”

“The Supreme Court ruling is an unprecedented attack on reproductive freedom and body autonomy, but anti-abortion politicians do not get the final say on our fundamental rights — we do,” said Tamya Cox-Touré, ACLU of Oklahoma executive director. “For far too many weeks, Oklahoma residents have had fewer rights than people in other states in this country, putting our state on the wrong side of history. Banning abortion is deeply unpopular in Oklahoma and across the country, and there will be no place for the politicians who pass these laws to hide from the consequences of their cruel actions.

“As some Oklahoma residents have already experienced due to severe obstacles to abortion care, banning abortion leaves many with no other option than to carry a pregnancy to term and give birth. Forcing someone to carry a pregnancy against their will has life-altering consequences, including enduring serious health risks from continued pregnancy and childbirth, making it harder to escape poverty, derailing their education and career plans, and making it more difficult to leave an abusive partner.

“Today’s ruling will also have deadly consequences, with the harm falling hardest on Black women and other people of color who already face a severe maternal mortality crisis that is the worst in the same states that are determined to ban abortion. If abortion is banned nationwide, pregnancy-related deaths are estimated to increase by 21 percent and 33 percent among black women. This opinion will also subject pregnancy losses to suspicion, investigation, and arrest, and patients and doctors could face charges and jail,” Cox-Touré said.

“Make no mistake: Politicians will not stop here. The same anti-abortion extremists seeking to control the bodies of pregnant people are coming for our right to access birth control and gender-affirming care, marry who we love, and vote.

“While the ACLU will do everything in our power to block these bans in the courts, we are not stopping there. We are mobilizing people in the streets and taking this fight to the ballot box to hold our elected officials accountable. Politicians who do not believe in protecting the civil rights and liberties of their constituents have no business in governors’ mansions, in state attorneys general’s offices, on state supreme court benches, or in state legislatures. The path to taking back our rights is long, but the ACLU of Oklahoma will be there every step of the way until we all have the power to make the best decisions for ourselves and our families,” Cox-Touré said.

The ACLU of Oklahoma says the ruling in this case — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — will set off a chain reaction with states banning abortion and criminalizing essential care throughout entire regions of the country, and has given politicians in Oklahoma the green light from the Supreme Court to continue to enforce their cruel agenda.

This decision is an unprecedented attack on reproductive freedom and body autonomy, the ACLU of Oklahoma says. Half the states in the country are expected to ban abortion, denying the 36 million women and other people who can become pregnant the fundamental right to decide for themselves whether and when to become a parent.

The ACLU of Oklahoma is working with partners and providers to respond to this ruling and fight back.

The opinion represents the culmination of a decades-long effort on the part of critics of abortion seeking to return more power to the states.   It was made possible by a solid six-member conservative majority — including three of Donald Trump’s nominees.

In a joint dissenting opinion, Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan heavily criticized the majority: “With sorrow — for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection — we dissent.”

Chief Justice John Roberts did not join the majority, writing in a concurring opinion that he would not have overturned Roe, but instead would have only uphold Mississippi’s law banning abortions after 15 weeks.

Expectation that the Supreme Court would, indeed, overturn the constitutional right to an abortion rose dramatically on May 2 when a draft by Justice Samuel Alito’s representing the majority opinion was leaked. The unprecedented event caused widespread uproar, and launched an investigation into how the leak occurred.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his majority opinion. “Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”

The final opinion was strikingly similar to the draft written by Alito that was leaked earlier this year. It repeats his scornful language towards the original Roe v. Wade decision that enshrined abortion rights more than half a century ago.