Reactions are pouring in after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the contentious 1973 verdict that legalized abortion nationwide.
While pro-lifers such as Franklin Graham and Lila Rose cheered the ruling, Democrats like former President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled fiery and emotional responses.
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The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision — a case centered on Mississippi’s law precluding abortions after 15 weeks — will ban abortion in around half of the states in America and return such decisions to the people.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the opinion that it is time to return judgments around abortion to the “people and their elected representatives.”
“We end this opinion where we began. Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion,” he wrote. “Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”
What Pro-Lifers Had to Say
Pro-lifers immediately heralded the decision. March for Life President Jeanne Mancini released a statement noting that the victory has been 50 years in the making.
“For nearly fifty years, the Supreme Court has imposed an unpopular and extreme abortion policy on our nation, but as the annual March for Life gives witness to, Roe’s allowance of abortion-on-demand, up-until-birth has never represented where most Americans stand on life!” she said.
Mancini continued, “Today, the ability to determine whether and when to limit abortion was returned to the American people who have every right to enact laws like Mississippi’s which protect mothers and unborn babies after 15 weeks — when they have fully formed noses, can suck their thumb, and feel pain.”
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America president Marjorie Dannenfelser said the decision brings the Supreme Court “in line with modern science and overwhelming public consensus.” She also said Dobbs is the start of an “entirely new pro-life movement.”
“We are ready to go on offense for life in every single one of those legislative bodies, in each statehouse and the White House,” Dannenfelser said. “Over the next few years, we will have the opportunity to save hundreds of thousands, even millions of lives, by limiting the horror of abortion in many states.”
Live Action founder Lila Rose called the overturning of Roe a “necessary first step” but said it is “not a final victory,” adding some critical caveats.
“While this decision will give states the right to protect their youngest citizens, many of our nation’s largest states, such as California, Illinois, and New York, will still legalize and even subsidize the killing of our youngest children,” she said. “We will not have true justice until the Supreme Court acknowledges the truth that under our Constitution, every American – born or preborn – has an inherent right to life protected by the 14th Amendment.”
Prominent Democrats Respond
Others are lamenting the decision, with anger and furor percolating.
Pro-choice clinic chain Planned Parenthood responded to the news by proclaiming that the Supreme Court ended “our constitutional right to abortion.”
BREAKING: The Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade, ending our constitutional right to abortion. We know you may be feeling a lot of things right now — hurt, anger, confusion. Whatever you feel is OK. We’re here with you — and we’ll never stop fighting for you.
— Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) June 24, 2022
“The Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade, ending our constitutional right to abortion. We know you may be feeling a lot of things right now — hurt, anger, confusion,” a statement read on Twitter. “Whatever you feel is OK. We’re here with you — and we’ll never stop fighting for you.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America reflected this sentiment in a Twitter statement, writing, “The Supreme Court just overturned Roe v. Wade; ending the constitutional right to abortion for millions across the country. We share your hurt, anger, and confusion. We are in this fight together.”
Former First Lady Michelle Obama said she is “heartbroken” over the decision:
My thoughts on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/9ALSbapHDY
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) June 24, 2022
Here are some of the other reactions from the pro-choice side:
Today, the Republican-controlled Supreme Court has achieved the GOP’s dark and extreme goal of ripping away women’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) June 24, 2022
Today is one of the darkest days our country has ever seen
American women are having their rights taken by 5 unelected Justices on the extremist MAGA court
These justices—appointed by Republicans and presiding without accountability—have stolen the fundamental right to abortion
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 24, 2022
I'm outraged by the Supreme Court's decision. As a pro-choice pastor, I’ll never back down from this fight. Women must be able to make their own health care decisions, not politicians.
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) June 24, 2022
Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 24, 2022
Mayor Eric Adams offered New York City as a safe haven to Americans seeking abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. https://t.co/7yhcO3wczS pic.twitter.com/GDlBUUZtxl
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 24, 2022
Continue to pray for America as tensions boil over. As Faithwire has reported, numerous churches and pro-life clinics have been attacked and harassed since the Dobbs decision leaked; now that it is finalized, anger will likely intensify.
The Gresham Pregnancy Resource Center in Oregon is among the affected clinics. The building was lit ablaze on June 11 by unknown vandals after an incendiary was thrown through one of the clinic’s windows. At least one room at the center is destroyed, with water and smoke damage likely throughout.
Read more about that story here.
***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
Have you have had an abortion, are contemplating ending your pregnancy, or would like pregnancy-related resources, please click here.
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