U.S. President Joe Biden has warned that American women's lives are now at risk as he joins those saddened and outraged by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn abortion rights.
Friday's ruling overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision and subsequent cases that guaranteed the U.S. Constitution's right to abortion for nearly half a century.
Hours after the sentencing, Mr. Biden said: "This is a sad day for the court and for the country... Now that Roy is gone, let's be very clear: the health and lives of women in this country are now at risk." "
He said the three justices appointed by former President Donald Trump formed the core of a decision that "upended the scale of the judiciary" and overturned abortion rights.
"Make no mistake: This decision is the result of decades of deliberately disrupting the balance of our power. In my view, this is the realization of an extreme ideology and a tragic mistake by the Supreme Court," he said.
"The court has done something that has never been done before, specifically stripping away an already recognized constitutional right that is so critical to many Americans."
Friday's decision will leave many Americans facing a variety of abortion laws, with many states preparing to severely limit or outright ban a woman's right to have an abortion.
Mr. Biden added, "Women could be punished for protecting their health, a punishment so extreme that women and girls are forced to have children of rapists...it's shocking to me."
He urged voters to protest the ruling in November's midterm elections and vowed that the fight for women's right to vote is not over.
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Former President Barack Obama was also among those responding to the verdict.
"Today, the Supreme Court has not only overturned nearly 50 years of precedent, but has left the most personal decisions anyone can make to the whims of politicians and theoreticians - it is attacking millions of Americans," he said. basic freedom."
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters shortly after the court ruling was announced that it was "a slap in the face for women."
She added: "It means such an insult to women. It's a slap in the face for women to use their own judgment to determine their reproductive freedom."
Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides sexual and reproductive health care, said: "We know you're feeling a lot right now - hurt, angry, confused.
“Whatever you feel is OK. We’re here with you — and we’ll never stop fighting for you.”
Boris Johnson was among those reacting to the historic verdict internationally.
Asked by reporters about his response to the ruling during a visit to Kigali, Rwanda, Mr Johnson said it was a "significant step backward".
"I've always believed in women's right to choose," he said.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added: "I am very disappointed because women's rights must be protected. I would have expected the United States to protect these rights."
However, Republicans welcomed the move, with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell claiming it was an “historic victory for the Constitution and for the most vulnerable in our society.”
In a statement, Mike Pence, who served as the Republican Vice-President under Donald Trump, said: “Today, life won.”
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
"Having been given this second chance for Life, 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,” he said.
In a majority ruling, joined by four other justices, Justice Samuel Alito said: “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled”.
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