June 24, 2022 Roe v. Wade news

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade Friday “represents a major setback after five decades of protection for sexual and reproductive health and rights.”

“It is a huge blow to women’s human rights and gender equality,” she added.

Bachelet said more than 50 countries with previously restrictive laws have liberalized their abortion legislation over the past 25 years.  

“With today’s ruling, the US is regrettably moving away from this progressive trend,” she said.

aadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted to the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court, calling the news of the ruling “horrific.”

“My heart goes out to the millions of American women who are now set to lose their legal right to an abortion,” Trudeau said in a tweet. “I can’t imagine the fear and anger you are feeling right now.”

Trudeau went on to express his support for Canadian women to have the right to choose. 

In a tweet, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly called today a dark day for women around the world. 

“This reversal of decades of hard fought gains will endanger the lives of women across the United States and jeopardize further rights,” Joly said. "We must remember that no country is immune: Your voice matters. Your vote matters.”

See Trudeau's tweet:

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and leaders in the South Dakota State Legislature, in response to the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, jointly announced plans for a special session later this year “to save lives and help mothers impacted by the decision.” 

According to a release from the governor’s office, the exact dates of the special session will be decided after discussion with legislative leadership.

“The Legislature intends to take the time to make sure South Dakota law protects the unborn and helps mothers,” the release said.

South Dakota’s trigger law provides that as of today, all abortions are illegal in South Dakota “unless there is appropriate and reasonable medical judgment that performance of an abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant female,” according to the release.

In the wake of the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade, the Congressional Black Caucus, led by Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, is calling on President Biden to declare a national emergency.

The statement said the decision to restrict access to abortion care "will disproportionately endanger the lives of Black Americans."

"We have seen what life was like pre-Roe v. Wade, and America cannot afford to go back," the statement added.

Who gets abortions: Black women are three times more likely than White women to die of pregnancy-related complications, encounter racism from health care providers at higher rates, face unequal pay and are more likely than their White counterparts to lack health insurance.

Abortion rights advocates say the pay disparity alone hampers Black women's ability to secure affordable childcare and housing. And there are no federal laws that mandate paid maternity leave. Activists also argue that there has been little movement on federal police reform that they say would create safer environments for Black women to raise their children.

Some context: CNN has previously reported that Biden's administration has been working for months in preparation for the expected decision by the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Options for moves Biden could take include executive action that could make it easier for women to travel to receive abortions in states where the procedure is still legal or expanding access to medication abortion through the mail. Some advocates have also suggested leasing federal land for abortion clinics, bypassing state laws that restrict them.

CNN's Nicquel Terry Ellis contributed to this report

She knew it was coming, but when word of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade popped up on Emma Green’s phone this morning, the 19-year-old from West Virginia was stunned.

“I felt sick to my stomach,” Green said. "My heart dropped because it felt more real. When (the draft court opinion leaked) there was still hope. Now it’s more real.”

Green, a marketing student at West Virginia University in Charleston, said she fully expected her home state to implement full prohibition. 

West Virginia has a so-called “zombie law” on the books banning abortion dating back more than a century that could snap back into effect with the high court’s ruling — a step that Republican Gov. Jim Justice appears prepared to push forward. 

“I will not hesitate to call a special session after consulting with the Legislature and my legal team if clarification in our laws needs to be made,” Justice said in a statement.

Tonight, Green will join friends at a protest. For a Democrat who follows the news closely, but has never been an activist, she said, “It’ll be a good start.”

President Biden said the Supreme Court's decision to end the Constitutional right to abortion "cannot be the final word" as he urged Congress to act and voters to take their frustrations to the polls.

"My administration will use all of its appropriate lawful powers. Congress must act, and with your vote, you can act," Biden said.

The President said the decision has made the US an "outlier among developed nations in the world," but it "is not over."

Biden also called on those protesting the decision to remain peaceful.

"I call on everyone no matter how deeply they care about this decision to keep all protests peaceful — peaceful, peaceful, peaceful. No intimidation. Violence is never acceptable," he said, adding that "threats and intimidation are not speech."

President Biden said his administration will protect the "bedrock right" of women to travel from states that ban abortion to those that allow it, also pledging to protect women's access to medications.

"If any state or local official — high or low — tries to interfere with a woman exercising her basic right to travel, I will do everything in my power to fight that deeply un-American attack," he added.

He also vowed to protect women's access to medications approved by the FDA and contraception.

Some states are saying that "they'll try to ban or severely restrict access to these medications," Biden said, adding that "extremist governors and state legislators are looking to block the mail or search a person's medicine cabinet" are "wrong and extreme and out of touch with the majority of Americans."

Biden said health organizations have said that "by limiting access to these medicines, maternal mortality will climb in America."

He adde the Department of Health and Human Services will ensure medications are available "to the fullest extent possible."

Friday's Supreme Court ruling that overturns Roe v. Wade is "literally taking America back 150 years," said President Biden.

Biden looked ahead to the elections in November and said voters must vote for representatives who will restore abortion rights.

"Let me be very clear and unambiguous. The only way we can secure a woman's right to choose ... is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade as federal law. No executive action from the President can do that," he said.

"And if Congress, as it appears, lacks the votes to do that now, voters need to make their voices heard. This fall, you must elect more senators and representatives who will codify a woman's right to choose into federal law once again," Biden added.

WATCH:

President Biden said the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade marks a "sad day for the court and for the country."

Biden said with the Constitutional protection gone, "the health and life of women in this nation are now at risk."

The President said as the vice president and now as President, he has studied this case carefully to inform decisions about who to nominate to sit on the Supreme Court.

"I believe Roe v. Wade was the correct decision," he said.