BREAKING: Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade

Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional information about the Court’s majority opinion in the Dobbs case.

By Dr. Derek Ellerman

According to breaking news reports, the Supreme Court has overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion at the federal level.

The expected decision comes months after the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion on the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case from Mississippi that attempted to overturn the state’s abortion ban after 15 weeks. 

THE SUPREME COURT HAS OVERTURNED ROE V. WADE, ELIMINATING THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO ABORTION.https://t.co/ZNYRs3QnpJ

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 24, 2022

RELATED: DHS Investigating Threats To ‘Burn Down’ Supreme Court, Murder Justices If Roe v. Wade Overturned

Bye-Bye Roe

The unprecedented leak of the draft opinion has already led to violence. In New York, a pregnancy center was firebombed, with a pro-abortion group calling itself Jane’s Revenge taking credit. 

Vox notes, “Alito’s opinion is similar to a draft opinion obtained and published by Politico in May — a largely unprecedented leak that rattled the Court and the nation. But even before the leak, the conservative supermajority on the Court had repeatedly signaled they were willing to overturn Roe and allow states to ban abortions.”

In the left-wing haven of Madison, Wisconsin, a pregnancy center was attacked with molotov cocktails. 

Most notably – so far – a California man upset about the possibility of Roe being overturned was arrested for the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The Department of Homeland Security in May warned of severe violence from pro-abortion activists – including threats to storm or even burn down the Supreme Court building, along with the murder of Supreme Court Justices. 

The Political Insider wrote in May:

The DHS memo, first reported on by Axios, indicates the department “is bracing for a potential surge in political violence” if, as a leaked draft opinion indicates, the Supreme Court does in fact overturn Roe v. Wade.

The greatest pro-life President in United States history appointed 3 justices to the court

And they have overturned Roe v Wade once and for all

THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP

— Jack Posobiec ???????? (@JackPosobiec) June 24, 2022

RELATED: Kavanaugh Assassination Plot Draws Muted White House Response

What The Supreme Court Decision Means

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade doesn’t make abortion illegal – it transfers the authority of regulating abortions to the states. 

The majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito argues that the original Roe decision was flawed in its legal reasoning and constitutionality. It can be read in its entirety here.

The ruling was 6-3, with Justices Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts voting to overturn – though Roberts wrote a separate concurring opinion.

Writing for the majority, Justice Alito states:

“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.”

Summarizing the Court’s decision process, Alito writes,

“We end this opinion where we began. Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”