ATL Standard

The Supreme Court recently issued a ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and holding that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to an abortion. The landmark decision overruled nearly 50 years of precedent on abortion law in an opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito. Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, praised the Supreme Court's ruling. 

On Friday, June 24, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. According to SCOTUSblog, the case was examining the constitutionality of a Mississippi law which banned most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Court upheld the law by a 6-3 vote. In a narrow 5-4 vote, the Court also overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and ruled that the Constitution did not protect access to abortion.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the Court's Opinion. Chief Justice John Roberts was the concurring vote who voted to uphold the Mississippi law without overruling Roe. Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor wrote a joint dissent. According to SCOTUSblog, Alito's opinion found that Roe had been "egregiously wrong and deeply damaging". He noted that the Constitution never mentioned abortion and examined nearly 200 years of American law showing that States had been seriously restricting abortion for decades well before Roe v. Wade in 1973.

"Today the Supreme Court, in line with modern science and overwhelming public consensus, recognized the truth in every mother’s heart and that pro-life advocates have argued all along: unborn children are human beings, deserving of protection," Dannenfelser said, according to a press release. "Every legislature in the land, in every single state and Congress, is now free to allow the will of the people to make its way into the law through our elected representatives." 

The National Right to Life Committee tweeted its support for the decision, calling it a correction of Roe v. Wade, "the most egregious and deadly Judicial ruling."

According to a report by CNET, Georgia now bans most abortions after roughly six weeks, or when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The new law was passed in 2019 and can now go into effect after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Exceptions are made for rape and incest or for "medically futile" pregnancies.

Not everyone agreed with the Supreme Court Ruling. Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock tweeted his reaction to the Dobbs decision, saying that he was "outraged" and that "women must be able to make their own health care decisions."