(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that prevented states from banning abortion.
“Finally, the Court considers whether a right to obtain an abortion is part of a broader entrenched right that is supported by other precedents,” the ruling said. “The Court concludes the right to obtain an abortion cannot be justified as a component of such a right. Attempts to justify abortion through appeals to a broader right to autonomy and to define one’s ‘concept of existence’ prove too much.”
The case in question began with a legal challenge to a Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch last year requested that the Supreme Court use that case to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The ruling comes after the court last year allowed a Texas law to stand that banned abortions after six weeks, when a baby’s heartbeat is detectable.
A leak from the Supreme Court earlier this year that indicated Roe v. Wade could be overturned sparked controversy and led to protests outside multiple Justices’ homes and a failed assassination attempt against Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Fencing and barricades were erected around the court, and law enforcement presence increased after the leak. Demonstrators on both sides gathered outside the court all week along with law enforcement in anticipation of the ruling.
This story is developing.
Originally published by The Center Square. Republished with permission.