Live updates: Biden again attacks Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade

Jun 25, 2022

The Supreme Court’s watershed decision to overturn Roe v. Wade drew outrage and celebration across the country Friday, culminating in a series of nationwide protests Friday night that were largely without incident. 

Some of the concerns about the end of the once federally-protected right to abortion were immediate: trigger laws put in place before the ruling meant that abortion is now effectively outlawed in 13 states automatically or through swift state action following the Friday decision. Abortion providers in several other states stopped offering services because doctors fear criminal charges.

But in addition to the pressing questions about reproductive rights raised by the Supreme Court ruling, there are concerns about what the court could now do with other other milestone decisions, particularly after conservative Justice Clarence Thomas called for the Supreme Court to ‘reconsider’ gay marriage and contraception. 

Here’s a look at what the ruling means for Americans and how the nation is responding to a fundamental change in reproductive rights.

Which states will ban abortion? Maps show how access will change with Roe v. Wade overturned

Twenty-two states have laws that could be used to restrict the legal status of abortion, according to The Guttmacher Institute, an organization that works to study, educate, and advance sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Thirteen of these states have “trigger laws” – which are now set to go into effect automatically or through swift state action because federal Roe protections no longer apply: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

McConnell: Abortion ruling result of a half-century struggle by conservatives

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on Friday, saying it represents a half century of struggle by conservative activists.

“The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Dobbs is courageous and correct,” he said. “This is an historic victory for the Constitution and for the most vulnerable in our society.”

During Donald Trump’s single term as president, McConnell was pivotal in reshaping the judiciary. He shepherded dozens of conservative judges onto the bench, including three high court nominees—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—that tilted the Supreme Court to its current conservative majority.

In May, the GOP leader acknowledged in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY that a national abortion ban is “possible” in Congress.

“If the leaked opinion became the final opinion, legislative bodies – not only at the state level, but at the federal level – certainly could legislate in that area,” McConnell said.

“And if this were the final decision, that was the point that it should be resolved one way or another in the legislative process. So yeah, it’s possible. It would depend on where the votes were.”

—Phillip M. Bailey

Obergefell: Thomas ‘imposing twisted sense of morality’ on the country

In an interview Friday, the plaintiff whose name is on the case legalizing same-sex marriage said abortion ruling is a call to opponents of marriage equality “to now start their engines and to come after those rights.”

“This very clearly paints a target on our right to privacy, our right to commit to the person we love and to form our families,” said Jim Obergefell, an Ohio resident and gay-rights advocate.

Obergefell and John Arthur, who was gravely ill, traveled to Maryland in July 2013 to get married because Ohio didn’t allow same-sex unions. Arthur died three months later, and Obergefell sued to be listed on the death certificate as Arthur’s husband. Their case was among multiple cases involving dozens of plaintiffs argued before the Supreme Court.

The 2015 decision establishing the right for same-sex couples to marry was a milestone for LGBTQ rights in the United States. Thomas dissented against the majority opinion.

Obergefell accused Thomas of “imposing his twisted sense of morality” on the country. He said he’s scared about what the future may hold but urged women, LGBTQ people and their allies to keep fighting for their rights.

The future of gay marriage:Jim Obergefell says Supreme Court abortion ruling puts target on privacy, gay marriage

Privacy rights after Roe ruling:Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling sparks concerns over abortion rights, data privacy