Friday’s landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade drew swift, emotional reactions all across the country.
Trigger laws put in place before the ruling meant that abortion was effectively outlawed in 13 states as soon as the decision was released Friday morning.
Some members of Congress plotted their next moves, including House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C, who expressed optimism that Democrats can mount a legislative response to the Dobbs decision.
And many more were concerned about what the Supreme Court ruling could mean for other milestone decisions, particularly after conservative Justice Clarence Thomas called for the Supreme Court to ‘reconsider’ gay marriage and contraception after the Roe ruling.
Here’s a look at what the ruling means for Americans and how the nation is responding to a fundamental change in reproductive rights.
Is birth control banned? Here’s what to know after Roe v. Wade overturned
With this decision, abortion will likely be banned or greatly restricted in at least 22 states, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Some experts worry these bans could trickle down to restrict the use of emergency contraception and birth control.
“The rhetoric has been really increasing over the last several years,” Mara Gandal-Power, director of birth control access at the National Women’s Law Center, said before the ruling. “There’s definitely a domino effect which I think people are really starting to wake up to.”
Health experts say what’s partly driving this legislation is the misconception that emergency contraceptives are able to terminate a pregnancy.
“The medications don’t work to abort a pregnancy,” said Dr. Mary Jacobson, an OB-GYN and chief medical officer at Alpha Medical, a telemedicine site for women’s health and sex differences. “If the patient were pregnant and took Plan B it doesn’t increase abortion and it doesn’t have any effects on the ongoing pregnancy.”
Roe v. Wade birth control:What to know about birth control as Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
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
Americans divided as they react to Supreme Court overturning Roe
Moments after the Supreme Court ruled Americans no longer have a constitutional right to abortion, staff at Hope Clinic For Women in southern Illinois called an emergency meeting.
“When I saw the decision, my heart dropped below my stomach,” said Hannah Dismer, education and research coordinator at the clinic in Granite City, Illinois, about 10 minutes from Missouri, where nearly all abortions are now illegal.
“I thought I was going to throw up. But I didn’t. I knew this was gonna happen,” Dismer told USA TODAY. “We have patients in front of us, and we have to continue working like this isn’t happening, even when it is.”
Elsewhere, anti-abortion rights activists celebrated the decision they eagerly anticipated. Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, said, “Now we get back to building up a healthy society, affirming life for women and their children, born and preborn.”
‘New era’ or ‘dark day’?:Americans divided as they react to Supreme Court overturning Roe.
What’s next? These states may be pivotal for post-Roe abortion access.
Florida is among several states, including Kansas and North Carolina, whose decisions on whether to continue to offer abortions will be especially pivotal to post-Roe abortion access in the United States, experts and advocates said.
The Supreme Court’s decision to strip away federal abortion rights means 26 states – many in the South and Midwest – are certain or likely to enact bans, according to Guttmacher. Others, including on the West Coast and Northeast, are expected to retain access.
But some states that expect surges in demand — and are considered key to access as nearby states enact bans — also face uncertainty because of upcoming ballot measures, hostile legislatures or midterm elections that could oust abortion-rights governors protecting access in states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
After Roe v. Wade overturned:What’s next? These states could be pivotal for post-Roe abortion access.
What does the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade mean?
The Supreme Court ruled Friday the Constitution provided no right to abortion, overturning nearly 50 years of precedent and sending the legality of the procedure to state legislatures to determine.
The most hotly awaited decision of the term sparked a firestorm of reaction. Republicans celebrated after having fought for decades to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion. Democrats lamented their lost fight to save it. Officials on each side said the decision would spur voting in the fall elections.
Access to abortion could become a patchwork based on where a person lives. In anticipation of the ruling, 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion, according to a study by the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.
What does overturning Roe mean?: