On the morning of Friday, June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision made in 1973 that “protect[ed] a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion”.

The decision was 6-3.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court majority, stating that the initial decision made in Roe v. Wade was “an abuse of judicial authority”. He was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Dissenting justices included Justice Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. They stated, “A state can force [a woman] to bring her pregnancy to term even at the steepest personal and familial costs.”

The debate between pro life and pro choice has been particularly prevalent in day to day conversations for years. But following the decision made on June 24, protests have erupted throughout the entire country, expressing strong disapproval with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The legality of abortion is now up to each state; though estimates vary, about half of states are expected to ban or severely limit abortion.

“Trigger laws” were in place in 13 states (as of May 2022) that allow incredibly quick turnaround time from the SCOTUS decision to abortion restrictions and bans. These states include Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

Other states have openly protected the right to abortion throughout their laws. Abortion is likely to remain legal in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

There have also been concerns surrounding suggested “openness from the court to reconsidering other settled legal precedents”, such as same-sex marriage or contraception rights.

You can turn to news organizations to find out how your state has been or will most likely be affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade within the next 30 days. Many sites contain the details of how that impacts women currently seeking abortions in those states.

Pro choice organizations to donate to or get more information from include (but are not limited to) the National Abortion Federation as well as the Center for Reproductive Rights. 

Pro life organizations to donate to or get more information from include March for Life, ProLife Across America, and many others.