Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Giving Steam to State Abortion Restrictions

June 22, 2022 Updated 3:05 P.M. ET

WASHINGTON (FLV) – In a 6-3 decision, The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, declaring that the constitution does not provide a right to an abortion Friday.

Justice Samuel Alito delivered the opinion of the Court. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett joined. Justices Thomas and Kavanaugh filed concurring opinions. Justice John Roberts filed an opinion concurring in the judgement.

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely- the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” the majority opinion said.

The ruling has now given states the authority to regulate abortions. 

“It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” the majority opinion said.

“The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion.”

Florida recently approved a new abortion law banning the procedure after 15 weeks in almost all cases.

“This is a time where these babies have beating hearts. They can move. They can taste,” DeSantis said. “We are here today to protect life. We are here today to defend those who can’t defend themselves.”

The Florida law says abortions are banned after 15 weeks unless two physicians certify in writing that, in reasonable medical judgement, the termination of the pregnancy is necessary to save a pregnant woman’s life or stop her from facing irreversible physical impairment other than a psychological condition. 

Other exceptions are allowed if two physicians certify in writing that in reasonable medical judgment the fetus has not achieved viability (defined under Florida Statute 390.01112) or that the fetus has a fatal abnormality. 

A single physician can certify an abortion in an emergency if the above criteria is followed and another physician is not available. 

Florida’s 15 week abortion ban is set to take effect on July 1st.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has said that the 15 week abortion law will have to overcome additional state-level caselaw and that overturning Roe would not be an automatic victory for the state’s new pro-life law. The Florida constitution recognizes a right to privacy, which could provide a hurdle for the law. 

“So we need we need our own kind of state version of the Dobbs case, to go before the Florida Supreme Court and definitively reinterpret law, I would say, appropriately interpret our Florida Constitution as not guaranteeing a right to abortion access,” Florida Voice for the Unborn Executive Director Andrew Shirvell said.

The law is being challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of abortion rights groups like Planned Parenthood. 

“This law blatantly rejects Floridians’ need for essential abortion care and their strong support for the right to get an abortion,” Florida ACLU Legal Director Daniel Tilley said.

“Not only does HB 5 defy the will of the people, it ignores the real-life circumstances of people who need an abortion and deliberately puts them in harm’s way.”

Three of the five Supreme Court Justices to side with the majority were appointed by President Donald Trump, which is a major reason conservatives voted for him in his first term. 

Americans have been on their toes waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision. A Supreme Court draft leaked earlier this year showing the court intended to vote to strike down the landmark abortion cases.

Since the draft leak, mobs of pro-abortion activists have protested outside of the conservative Supreme Court Justices’ houses attempting to sway the court’s opinion.