ALERT: U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

The U.S. Supreme Court effectively overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, ruling in a 6-3 vote that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion in its ruling of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The case determined, “whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional,” according to SCOTUS blog. All six conservative justices voted in favor of the majority opinion while the three liberal jurists dissented.

The new opinion is the most significant Supreme Court decision since the Court ruled upon the Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey case in 1992 and is expected to dramatically change the legal landscape of women's reproductive rights in the U.S.   

The ruling asserts that abortion rights will be determined by states. 

Some reports indicate that half of the states will pass laws that prohibit abortions while others have  already started enacting strict laws to regulate the procedure.   

“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.”