The Supreme Court on Friday overturned the nearly 50-year old federal precedent protecting the right to an abortion – a move that, though highly expected, still generated both outrage and elation across the country.
As has been the case in a deeply divided country, Democrats and Republicans had vastly different reactions to the Supreme Court opinion.
In an address to the American people, President Joe Biden, the nation’s top Democrat, called Friday a "sad day for the court and for the country," predicting the decision will put the health and lives of some women at risk.
“I believe Roe v. Wade was the correct decision, as a matter of constitutional law and application of the fundamental right to privacy and liberty and matters of family and personal autonomy,” the president in remarks from the White House.
On the other hand, Biden's predecessor, former President Donald Trump, who appointed three conservative justices to the high court during his single term in office, took credit for Friday's ruling.
"Today’s decision, which is the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation, along with other decisions that have been announced recently, were only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constitutionalists confirmed to the United States Supreme Court," Trump wrote in a statement. "It was my great honor to do so!"
Biden's former boss, former President Barack Obama, wrote that "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."
Former first lady Michelle Obama also issued a statement, saying that she was "heartbroken" by Friday's ruling, but, similarly to her husband, called for action
"Our hearts may be broken today, but tomorrow, we've got to get up and find the courage to keep working toward the more just America we all deserve," she wrote.
Former Secretary of State, New York senator and first lady Hillary Clinton said that the ruling "will live in infamy as a step backward for women's rights and human rights."
"Most Americans believe the decision to have a child is one of the most sacred decisions there is, and that such decisions should remain between patients and their doctors," the 2016 presidential candidate wrote in a Twitter post.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., blamed the decision on former President Donald Trump and his slate of conservative Supreme Court justices approved by the Senate, which included Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, all of whom voted with the majority in Friday’s decision.
“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,” Pelosi wrote in a statement. “Because of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, the Republican Party and their supermajority on the Supreme Court, American women today have less freedom than their mothers.
“A woman’s fundamental health decisions are her own to make, in consultation with her doctor and her loved ones – not to be dictated by far-right politicians," she said. "While Republicans seek to punish and control women, Democrats will keep fighting ferociously to enshrine Roe v. Wade into law.
“This cruel ruling is outrageous and heart-wrenching,” she added. “But make no mistake: the rights of women and all Americans are on the ballot this November.”
"Reproductive freedom is on the ballot in November,” Pelosi added during an emotional press conference later in the day.
The Senate’s top Democrat, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, slammed the conservative court and encouraged more Americans to vote in the upcoming elections to elect politicians who will enshrine abortion protections into law.
“Today’s decision makes crystal clear the contrast as we approach the November elections: elect more MAGA Republicans if you want nationwide abortion bans, the jailing of women and doctors and no exemptions for rape or incest,” he said in part. “Or, elect more pro-choice Democrats.”
And Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia – a moderate Democrat who voted for both Kavanaugh and Gorsuch (but against Barrett) and was thus instrumental in formers’ confirmations to the nation’s highest court – expressed his disappointment with their decision on Friday.
“I trusted Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh when they testified under oath that they also believed Roe v. Wade was settled legal precedent and I am alarmed they chose to reject the stability the ruling has provided for two generations of Americans,” Manchin wrote in part. “As a Catholic, I was raised pro-life and will always consider myself pro-life. But I have come to accept that my definition of pro-life may not be someone else’s definition of pro-life.
“I believe that exceptions should be made in instances of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is in jeopardy,” he added. “But let me be clear, I support legislation that would codify the rights Roe v. Wade previously protected. I am hopeful Democrats and Republicans will come together to put forward a piece of legislation that would do just that.”
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who backs abortion rights who also voted for Kavanaugh and Gorsuch, said in a statement that their ruling is "inconsistent" with what they previously expressed to her and at public hearings.
"This decision is inconsistent with what Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their testimony and their meetings with me, where they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon," Collins wrote.
"Throwing out a precedent overnight that the country has relied upon for half a century is not conservative," the Maine Republican added. "It is a sudden and radical jolt to the country that will lead to political chaos, anger, and a further loss of confidence in our government."
The Senate’s top Republican, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the ruling “courageous and correct,” adding: “For 50 years, states have been unable to enact even modest protections for unborn children. More than 90% of Europe restricts abortion on demand after 15 weeks, but every state in America has been forced to allow it more than a month past that, after a baby can feel pain, yawn, stretch, and suck his or her thumb. Judicial activists declared that every state had to handle abortion like China and North Korea and no state could handle it like France or Germany.
“Not anymore. Now the American people get their voice back,” he added.
And Republicans across the country lauded the decision, which will send the issue of abortion back to each state to decide. At least 13 GOP-led states have so-called trigger laws on the books set to restrict or prohibit abortion to varying degrees once the Supreme Court struck down the protections offered under Roe v. Wade.
One of those states is Texas, which already had one of the nation’s strictest laws against abortion, having passed the Heartbeat Act last year, which prohibits abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected – typically around six weeks of gestation.
Last summer, Texas also adopted House Bill 1280, which would ban all abortions – with no exceptions for rape or incest – beginning at the moment of conception. It includes limited exceptions if the life of the mother is at stake, or if there is risk of “substantial impairment of major bodily function.”
Should an “unborn child” die as a result of an abortion, doctors who perform the procedure could face a first degree felony, punishable by up to a $100,000 fine and life in prison.
The bill will be enacted within 30 days of the Supreme Court overturning Roe.
Texas’ Gov. Greg Abbott, who last July signed the state’s trigger provision into law, wrote in part: “Texas is a pro-life state, and we have taken significant action to protect the sanctity of life. Texas has also prioritized supporting women's healthcare and expectant mothers in need to give them the necessary resources so that they can choose life for their child.”
“Texas will always fight for the innocent unborn, and I will continue working with the Texas legislature and all Texans to save every child from the ravages of abortion and help our expectant mothers in need,” the statement added.
But Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat running against Abbott in the gubernatorial race, seemed to target Abbott in his own response to the Supreme Court decision, writing: “We will overcome this decision in Texas by winning political power.”
Senate Democrats also responded with outrage, including Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who said the "radical decision is a massive attack on reproductive rights and freedom."
"Abortion care is health care, period, and in the Senate we are going to fight back," he added.
Fellow Democrat Sen. Jon Tester of Montana wrote in part: "For nearly 50 years, women have been able to make their own healthcare decisions without interference from the government. The Supreme Court's ruling now means women and doctors will be put in jail when exercising this long-held right in states across the country.
"No judge or politician should be telling women how to live their lives or undermining their fundamental right to privacy," Tester added.
Republicans celebrated the decision and called on states to move quickly to restrict abortions. Former Vice President Mike Pence, a staunch anti-abortion advocate, wrote that the Supreme Court “has given the American people a new beginning for life, and I commend the justices in the majority for having the courtage of their convictions.
“Now that Roe v. Wade has been consigned to the ash heap of history, a new arena in the cause of life has emerged, and it is incumbent on all who cherish the sanctity of life to resolve that we will take the defense of the unborn the support for women in crisis pregnancy centers to every state in America,” he added. “Having been given this second chance for Life (sic), we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land.”
Donald Trump Jr., the son of former President Trump, wrote on Twitter that he is "proud of my father for what he has accomplished today."
Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah wrote in part: The national nightmare of Roe has ended. The Supreme Court of the United States has overturned the wrongly decided Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey."
"I pray for national unity and for the safety of the justices of the Supreme Court who, in regard to this case, have faced unprecedented attacks," he added. "I thank God that the people of Utah and the United States are now free to enact protections for life and human dignity."
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., similarly celebrated the decision, writing: “LIFE WINS! Glory to God” on social media.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.