As previously reported by REVOLT, today (June 24), the Supreme Court voted in favor of overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling set in place over 50 years ago. Multiple lawmakers, as well as citizens across the country, have spoken out against the decision. Former President Barack Obama has issued a statement following the groundbreaking news.

“Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues — attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans,” the former president said. “For more than a month, we’ve known this day was coming — but that doesn’t make it any less devastating.”

In early May, a draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito leaked. In it, he showed support for overturning the ruling. “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” the draft read in part. Before today’s announcement, women’s abortion rights were federally protected by the constitution. Now, individual states will determine if abortions will be allowed or banned.

At the time of the leak, Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama released a joint statement. It read, “Few, if any, women make the decision to terminate a pregnancy casually — and people of goodwill, across the political spectrum, can hold different views on the subject.”

President Biden shared a few words following the ruling as well. “This fall, we must elect more senators and representatives who will codify a woman’s right to choose into federal law. We need to elect more state leaders to protect this right at the local level. We need to restore the protections of Roe as law of the land.”

He added, “Today is a very solemn moment for the United States. The Supreme Court expressly took away a Constitutional right from the American people that it had already recognized. They simply took it away. That’s never been done to a right that is so important to so many Americans.”