Biden says restoring abortion rights is up to voters

The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health was the most anticipated of the court’s term, with political tension surrounding the fight over abortion rights erupting in May with the leak of a draft opinion indicating a majority of justices intended to end the long-standing precedent.

The justices were considering a Mississippi law that would ban almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The law had not taken effect because lower courts said it was at odds with the national right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade in 1973 and affirmed by subsequent Supreme Court rulings.

In their joint dissent, the court’s three liberal justices took note of the states that will move quickly to restrict abortion access and emphasized the sweeping impact of the court’s decision on the rights of women to terminate their pregnancies.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who helped shepherd several conservative justices onto the court, celebrated the Supreme Court ruing as “courageous and correct” and said the American people have gotten “their voice back” on the issue.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned that her Republican colleagues in Congress are now “plotting a nationwide abortion ban” and that more extreme measures could be enacted in the states.