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Roe v. Wade: How the landmark reversal impacts the Delaware Valley
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision that gives states the power to ban or otherwise limit abortions. Abortions will remain legal in New Jersey and Delaware, as enshrined by each state's constitution or legislature. Abortions in Pennsylvania remain legal as well, but could face changes. FOX 29 political analyst Bruce Gordon joins FOX 29 News at 5 to breakdown the ruling.
PHILADELPHIA - The United States Supreme Court has overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade case that made abortions legal nationwide.
The decision to overturn the case now allows states to have the final say about whether or not abortions will be legal.
After the case was overturned, local leaders and organizations across the Delaware Valley quickly began reacting to the news.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania released a statement saying:
"This is a shameful day in the history of the Supreme Court. For 49 years, generations of Americans have relied on the constitutionally protected right to an abortion, but the court is ignoring its own precedent and the well-being of millions of women in the name of an extremist political agenda. People in Pennsylvania should be clear that abortion is still legal in our state. And it will remain legal as long as we continue to elect candidates to office who support access to abortion."
RELATED COVERAGE
- Read US Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization: Roe v. Wade overturned
- State by state: Where abortion will be illegal after Supreme Court ruling
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker says the reversal is "a massive attack on reproductive rights and freedom."
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf called the move "a dark day for reproductive rights in America" and says access to abortions will remain available in Pennsylvania.
Echoing a similar message, NJ Governor Phil Murphy says women will have "full autonomy over their bodies" in the Garden State.
Not all the reactions were negative as the Archbishop of Philadelphia said it was "grateful to the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States for their willingness to hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, and for their opinion, which affirms the deep value inherent to every human life."
Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for Pennsylvania Governor, reacted to the news on Facebook saying, "Life won!"
His Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, says "I will not let our daughters grow up in a world where they have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers had in Pennsylvania."
Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, who is the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania's Senate seat, called the move "unjust" and "wrong."
Memet Oz, Fetterman's Republican foe in the November election, said he will "defend the sanctity of life" in a short statement posted to Twitter.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.