10 reactions to overturning Roe v. Wade: Michelle Obama ‘heartbroken’; Rick Warren says ‘Thank you’

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Friday, June 24, 2022

Pro-life campaigners celebrate near the U.S. Supreme Court in the streets of Washington, D.C., on June 24, 2022. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday reversed legalized abortion nationwide in one of the most divisive and bitterly fought issues in American political life. The court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and said individual states can permit or restrict the procedure themselves. | OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

Reactions to Friday's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide reflected both joy and sorrow, highlighting the deep divisions among the American public and politicians on the issue.

The Supreme Court also upheld a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

The court's constitutionalist majority agreed that the Roe decision was wrong.

"The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision," Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court. "It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives."

The court's three progressive justices accused the constitutionalist majority of discarding the "balance" presented in Roe and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision in protecting a woman's interest and that of the state in protecting "potential life."

"Today, the Court discards that balance. It says that from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of," Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wrote.

The following pages highlight 10 high-profile reactions to the Dobbs decision.