The reaction was swift after the U.S. Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions nationwide.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi decried the decision.
"Today, the Republican-controlled Supreme Court has achieved the GOP’s dark and extreme goal of ripping away women’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions," she said.
Republican leadership in the House of Representatives released a joint statement, praising the decision to leave abortion laws up to states.
"Every unborn child is precious, extraordinary, and worthy of protection," said the statement from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Steve Scalise and Rep. Elise Stefanik
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Friday one of the "darkest days" the country has ever seen.
"These justices—appointed by Republicans and presiding without accountability—have stolen the fundamental right to abortion," Schumer said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who was part of the Trump administration, which appointed Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, all of whom who voted to overturn Roe, commended the decision.
“Today, Life Won," he said.
Former President Barack Obama also offered his opinion on the court overturning a 50-year right.
"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," he said.
It wasn't just Americans reacting to the decision. British Prime Minister called the decision a "big step backwards."
MORE REACTIONS:
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (LA-01), and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (NY-21) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization:
“Every unborn child is precious, extraordinary, and worthy of protection. We applaud this historic ruling, which will save countless innocent lives. “The Supreme Court is right to return the power to protect the unborn to the people’s elected representatives in Congress and the states. In the days and weeks following this decision, we must work to continue to reject extreme policies that seek to allow late-term abortions and taxpayer dollars to fund these elective procedures. “The people’s representatives must defend the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for every American - born and unborn. As we celebrate today's decision, we recognize the decades of advocacy from the pro-life movement and we acknowledge much work remains to protect the most vulnerable among us."
Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield): “Today we celebrate life and I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to return the issue of abortion back to the states. While some states may eliminate abortion to some extent, California Democrats continue to prioritize legislation such as SCA 10 which would enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court’s decision does not change California's current policies which promote taxpayer-funded abortions on demand for everyone, including out-of-state residents and children as young as 12 years old.”
Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:
“The right to an abortion is an essential right. But today, six right-wing justices on the Supreme Court cast aside half a century of precedent to overturn Roe v. Wade. This draconian decision will deprive millions of Americans of the basic freedom to make decisions for their own bodies. It also jeopardizes other fundamental civil rights, like the right to marry who you love, the right to privacy, and the right to access contraception.
“I refuse to accept a reality in which women across the country are stripped of the right to make their own decisions about their reproductive health. And the American people shouldn’t accept this either. I will do everything I can in the Senate to enshrine reproductive rights in federal law. But with so much on the line, I also urge every American to make their voice heard, especially at the ballot box, to ensure that this generation of women is not left with fewer rights than their mothers.
“Let’s be clear: today’s decision is the direct result of a Republican effort to radicalize our Supreme Court. Now, in decision after decision, a radical right-wing majority of Republican-appointed justices is rewriting history and overturning settled precedents in order to undo hard won progress. In doing so, they have provoked a crisis of legitimacy at the Supreme Court.”
Nathan Hochman, candidate for California Attorney General, issued the following statement in response to today's United States Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. "I have always supported a woman's right to choose. The decision by the Supreme Court today doesn't outlaw abortion, it leaves it to each state's legislature. California has existing laws that permit abortion under any circumstance up until fetal viability and thereafter if the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother. Our state's laws will stay in a post-Roe California and as Attorney General I will stand with them," Hochman said.
Overturning Roe and outlawing abortions will never make them go away.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 24, 2022
It only makes them more dangerous, especially for the poor + marginalized.
People will die because of this decision. And we will never stop until abortion rights are restored in the United States of America.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today released the following statement following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, et al. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization et al.:
“Today, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and held that the right to abortion is no longer protected by the Constitution.
“The Supreme Court has eliminated an established right that has been an essential component of women’s liberty for half a century – a right that has safeguarded women’s ability to participate fully and equally in society. And in renouncing this fundamental right, which it had repeatedly recognized and reaffirmed, the Court has upended the doctrine of stare decisis, a key pillar of the rule of law.
“The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Court’s decision. This decision deals a devastating blow to reproductive freedom in the United States. It will have an immediate and irreversible impact on the lives of people across the country. And it will be greatly disproportionate in its effect – with the greatest burdens felt by people of color and those of limited financial means.
Statement from Kathryn Lybarger, UC Berkley gardener and president of AFSCME Local 3299, on the Supreme Court ending nearly 50 years of constitutionally protected reproductive freedom:
“Today, the United States Supreme Court decided to end decades of precedent by overturning a woman’s constitutionally protected right to have an abortion. This is a sad day that rolls back fifty years of progress on healthcare and women’s rights. It is worthy of righteous anger.
As a union that represents mostly women, immigrants, and people of color—the very people who are disproportionately impacted by this frontal assault on reproductive freedom--this attack is especially personal to our membership. Like the malignant extremism trying to erase Black history and Black votes, trample the rights of our LGBTQ+ siblings and build walls around our country, it subverts the principles of dignity and equality that have guided our nation’s pursuit of a more perfect union for more than two centuries.
This appalling and misogynistic act of judicial activism is a stark reminder that elections matter. That’s why we’re calling on all of our allies, both inside and outside of the labor movement, to organize as we’ve never organized before at the workplace and in our communities. The 30,000 patient care and service workers of AFSCME 3299 will never stop fighting to restore the freedoms and bodily autonomy that should be protected as fundamental human rights for women everywhere.”
Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, issued the following statement today regarding the ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed women’s reproductive rights:
“Clearly, the court is adopting dangerous policy, undoing a half-century of precedent, and putting the lives and freedoms of millions of women at risk,” Sen. Dodd said. “But California will not sit idly by as women across America are stripped of their rights.”
“We already have strong laws supporting women, and this year we have a dozen bills to enshrine and expand women’s reproductive healthcare and the right to choose,” Sen. Dodd said. “I’m a principal coauthor of Senate Constitutional Amendment 10 to explicitly add the guarantee of reproductive freedom in California's Constitution. That will go to a vote of the people in November.”
“We will continue to defend a woman’s right to choose as well as access to health care by building a protective firewall in our state constitution,” Sen. Dodd said.
Bakersfield Sikh Women's Association: We are devastated and shocked by the Supreme Court ruling. Mostly because this law will negatively affect poor women and women of color the most. Sikh women or otherwise - the US government has no right to interfere with a woman's autonomous decisions about her own body.
