A director at the National Right to Life convention in Atlanta has warned the new "battle" to be played out post Roe v Wade will be in medical abortions, while Utah's branch of Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit seeking to block the state's abortion ban.
Look back on how the day's events unfolded in our blog.
Key events
Live updates
By Shiloh Payne
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By Shiloh Payne
Here's a look at the demonstrations in Washington
Abortion-rights protesters displayed placards during a demonstration outside the Supreme Court in Washington.
By Shiloh Payne
Medical abortion 'the new modern menace', anti-abortion activist says
At the National Right to Life convention in Atlanta, a leader within the anti-abortion group warned attendees Saturday that the Supreme Court's decision ushers in "a time of great possibility and a time of great danger."
Randall O'Bannon, the organisation's director of education and research, encouraged activists celebrate their victories but stay focused and continue working on the issue. Specifically, he mentioned medication that can cause abortion.
"With Roe headed for the dustbin of history, and states gaining the power to limit abortions, this is where the battle is going to be played out over the next several years," Mr O'Bannon said.
"The new modern menace is a chemical or medical abortion with pills ordered online and mailed directly to a woman's home."
This medication can be prescribed online and mailed out to patients who need them, so it could open up cross-border care for patients in states where abortion is banned.
Conservative states have already rushed to restrict abortion pills. Currently, 32 states allow only doctors to dispense abortion pills, while six including Texas and Missouri ban any use of telemedicine for medication abortion.
Another 21 states do not have blanket bans but require at least one in-person visit, meaning patients cannot simply have a telemedicine appointment and receive the pills by mail.
By Shiloh Payne
By Shiloh Payne
Before Roe v Wade fell, Gerri Santoro's death galvanised America's abortion movement
She died alone, abandoned by her lover after a failed self-induced abortion in 1964.
Her name was Gerri Santoro.
But when a shocking photo of her then unidentified body was published in a national magazine, she became a defining symbol of the abortion rights movement in the United States.
She was 28 years old.
The black-and-white image of Ms Santoro's death was published without her family's permission, appearing under the headline Never Again, shortly after the US Supreme Court handed down its opinion on Roe v Wade in 1973.
The landmark ruling effectively enshrined Americans' right to access abortion, regardless of which state they lived in.
By Shiloh Payne
Planned Parenthood in Utah sues to block abortion ban
The Utah branch of Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit on Saturday seeking to block the state's abortion ban, which came into effect on Friday, Reuters is reporting.
Utah was one of eight states that imposed an immediate ban on abortions under a so-called "trigger law" as soon as the Supreme Court ruled on Friday to end a constitutional right that had been in place for almost 50 years.
Utah had outlawed abortion with the exceptions of rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother through a law passed in 2020.
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, part of a national abortion rights organization, argues in the lawsuit that provisions in Utah's state constitution protects the right to an abortion.
The Utah branch is also seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the ban from taking effect. Without emergency court relief, at least 55 Utahns will not be able to get the abortion care they need this week, the lawsuit argues.
By Shiloh Payne
By Shiloh Payne
Australian politicians respond to Roe w Wade decision
Australian politicians are voicing concerns about the welfare of women in the United States, following the decision to scrap the constitutional right to abortion.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has told Sky News he is grateful that abortion isn't an issue that divides the Labor and Liberal parties in Australia.
“I'm thinking at the moment for women who live in some of those states - they're basically being told today that if you want to have an abortion, then get on a bus and travel a couple of hundred kilometres," Mr Clare said.
“I share the anger, frustration and the grief that people are experiencing and talking about in the United States and right across the world at the moment.
Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley was also on Sky News this morning. She said Australia doesn't have the same structure for this issue with no constitutional right for abortion in Australia.
"It belongs with the states, so that has been an issue for them largely over many years," Ms Ley said.
"I come back to two things on this topic — one is that education of young women, of rural and regional women, and of women from all walks of life is absolutely paramount, and that starts obviously at school with good guidance."
"But also I agree with Bill Clinton, abortion should be safe, legal and rare. This has been a step backwards for women in the US.
"I'm very discomforted by anything that puts a personal and sensitive issue that a woman has to grapple with in many instances, or a family has to grapple with, in the same sentence as criminal.
"And we absolutely should never do that, and we should always approach these issues with sensitivity and respect."
By Shiloh Payne
ICYMI: How states have responded to the rulings
In yesterday's blog we took a look at what states had responded immediately to the rulings and imposed bans.
If you missed it, here's a list of what action has been taken:
- Clinics in Alabama have stopped providing services after a federal judge granted the state's request to lift an injunction that would allow the state to enforce a ban. The only exception is for the sake of the mother's health.
- In Arkansas the Department of Health notified the state's two abortion providers that its ban on procedures has taken effect under a law triggered by the Supreme Court ruling. The only abortions that are legal are ones to protect the life of a mother in a medical emergency.
- Abortion services have been "paused" in Texas as clinics await guidance from their attorneys.
- The only abortion clinic in West Virginia is no longer performing abortions.
- The state of Missouri is acting quickly to enforce a state law banning abortion in the wake of the ruling. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said he was acting immediately to enforce a state law banning abortion except in "cases of medical emergency".
- The Democratic governors of California, Washington and Oregon have vowed to protect reproductive rights and help women who travel to the West Coast seeking abortions.
- Within an hour of the ruling, the Ohio Attorney General had asked a federal court to lift a stay on the state's ban on abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy. The Ohio House speaker said steps would begin immediately to unfetter other anti-abortion measures tied up in legislative committees or the courts.
By Shiloh Payne
What steps are activists taking now that clinics are closing?
Some states have been quick to ban abortion, with trigger laws taking effect immediately after the ruling was released, but activists are working to maintain support for women needing abortions.
In Texas, Cathy Torres, organising manager for Frontera Fund, a Texas group that helps pay for abortions, said there was a lot of fear and confusion near the US-Mexico border.
The state's abortion law bans the procedure from conception, the Associated Press reports.
Under the law, people who help patients get abortions can be fined and doctors who perform them could face life in prison.
"We are a fund led by people of colour who will be criminalised first," Ms Torres said.
She said abortion funds like hers that have shut down operations hope to find a way to safely restart.
"We just really need to keep that in mind and understand the risk."
Tyler Harden, Mississippi director for Planned Parenthood Southeast, said she spent Friday and Saturday making sure people with appointments at the state's only abortion clinic that they don't have to cancel them right away.
Abortions can still take place until 10 days after the state attorney general publishes a required administrative notice about the Supreme Court ruling.
Mississippi will ban the procedure except for pregnancies that endanger the woman's life or those caused by rape reported to law enforcement.
Ms Harden said she has been providing information about funds that help people travel out of state to have abortions.
Right now Florida is the nearest "safe haven" state, but Ms Harden said, "we know that that may not be the case for too much longer."
By Shiloh Payne
Temporary injunction keeps abortion legal in Michigan
In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Planned Parenthood both have filed lawsuits seeking to block a 1931 law that bans abortions from retaking effect in the event that the Supreme Court overturned Roe.
A state court judge in May temporarily put the 91-year-old law on hold while the litigation proceeds.
Whitmer is running for reelection this fall. The top Republican candidates, who will face off in an Aug. 2 primary, all oppose abortion rights, and the state legislature's two chambers are both controlled by Republicans.
"I will fight like hell to protect every Michigander's right to make decisions about their own body with the advice of a medical professional they trust," Ms Whitmer said in a statement on Friday.
By Shiloh Payne
Jacinda Ardern says the ruling 'feels like a loss for women everywhere'
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says personal beliefs shouldn't get in the way of another individual's decisions.
"Here in New Zealand we recently legislated to decriminalise abortion and treat it as a health rather than a criminal issue," she says.
"That change was grounded in the fundamental belief that it's a women's right to choose."
Ms Ardern says people are "absolutely entitled" to have strong convictions on the issue, but it should not impact another person's decisions.
"To see that principle now lost in the United States feels like a loss for women everywhere."
She says there needs to be progress, not to move backwards.
By Shiloh Payne
The overturning of Roe v Wade couldn't happen in Australia, but abortion still isn't a guaranteed right
A situation like Roe v Wade could never overturn abortion rights in Australia, but significant barriers to access remain and reform is needed to protect people's rights going forward, legal and reproductive rights advocates say.
"In Australia, abortion is protected at the state and territory level, we don't have a constitutional right to abortion," Human Rights Law Centre associate legal director Adrianne Walters said.
"In fact, we don't have national comprehensive human rights protections in Australia, which is something a lot of people don't realise."
Abortion has been decriminalised in all jurisdictions except Western Australia, where it is still regulated by the criminal code.
Last year South Australia became the final state apart from WA to move abortion from criminal law into healthcare legislation.
By Shiloh Payne
US President promises to closely monitor states’ abortion laws
President Joe Biden says the White House will monitor how states enforce bans, with administration officials having already signaled they plan to fight attempts to prohibit a pill used for medication abortion.
"The decision is implemented by states," Biden said. "My administration is going to focus on how they administer and whether or not they violate other laws."
The White House said it also would challenge any efforts by states to restrict women's ability to travel out of their home state to seek an abortion.
By Shiloh Payne
Mississippi's last abortion clinic has nine days until it closes
The Jackson Women's Health Organization — also known as the Pink House — is the only licensed abortion provider in the state of Mississippi.
It was at the centre of the case that triggered Roe v Wade's downfall, after challenging a state law that restricted abortion to within 15 weeks.
Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization made its way to the top of the US court system as a vehicle to overturn Roe v Wade.
The clinic was still operating on Saturday morning, with escorts showing up to the state's sole abortion clinic about 5am to prepare for the arrival of patients, the Associated Press reports.
Anti-abortion protesters began setting up ladders to peer over the property's fence and large posters with messages including "abortion is murder" not long after.
Coleman Boyd, 50, a longtime protester outside the clinic who frequently comes with his wife and children to shout gospel through a bullhorn, incorrectly told women waiting for appointments that they were violating the law.
"Young lady, your baby is alive right now. Please have mercy," Boyd shouted to a patient that entered the clinic.
Tensions were high all around the medical facility and only a handful of abortion rights activists were present. That came as no surprise to some.
"Being in the South, I'm used to being a little outnumbered with progressive opinions. However, I am not disheartened by being out here alone right now. We are fighting for human rights and that affects everyone," said Lauren Spigner.
By Shiloh Payne
Officer suspended for off-duty actions at abortion protest
A Rhode Island police officer accused of punching a woman at an abortion protest while he was off-duty was suspended from his job with pay on Saturday while the Providence Police Department conducts a criminal investigation into his actions.
Jennifer Rourke, Rhode Island Political Cooperative Chairwoman and state Senate candidate, told the Providence Journal she was punched in the face at least twice by Jeann Lugo, who had been running for the GOP nomination for a Rhode Island senate seat, the Associated Press is reporting.
Mr Lugo told the Providence Journal he was “not going to deny” the punching allegation, but added that “everything happened very fast”.
"As an officer that swore to protect and serve our communities, I, unfortunately, saw myself in a situation that no individual should see themselves in," he said in the email to the Boston Globe.
"I stepped in to protect someone that a group of agitators was attacking."
By Shiloh Payne
Abortion-rights activists rally across the country
It's just past 5:30pm in Washington and hundreds of protesters have spent a second day on the streets protesting the Supreme Court's Roe v Wade opinion.
Some of the protesters in Washington chanted "we will vote," "my body, my choice," while others said "not your body, not your choice" and "abortion kills children".
Signs included "we dissent," "my body my choice" and "Jesus saves."
Here's how it looks.
By Shiloh Payne
Where in the US will it still be legal to get an abortion?
The Guttmacher Institute estimates 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion, leaving women in large areas of the US south-west and Midwest without nearby access to the medical procedure.
Most states where abortion will still be legal are on the west coast in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, or in the north-east.
California's Governor Gavin Newsom has gone so far as to propose enshrining the right to abortion in the state's constitution.
A handful of states in the Midwest and south-west are expected to keep abortion legal, including Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota and New Mexico, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Vermont have passed legislation this year seeking to protect or expand abortion access.
Under that scenario, a woman in Miami, Florida might have to fly to another state or drive 11 hours, or more than 1,100 kilometres, to reach North Carolina, where abortion is expected to remain legal.
By Shiloh Payne
Abortion bans are already in place in some states
Women considering abortions already had been dealing with a near-complete ban in Oklahoma and a prohibition after roughly six weeks in Texas.
In Ohio, a ban on most abortions from the first detectable foetal heartbeat became law when a federal judge dissolved an injunction that had kept the measure on hold for nearly three years. Another law with narrow exceptions was triggered by the ruling in Utah and went into effect.
Mississippi’s only abortion clinic, which was at the centre of the case before the Supreme Court, continued to see patients Friday.
Outside, men used a bullhorn to tell people inside that they would burn in hell, the Associated Press is reporting.
Clinic escorts wearing colorful vests used large speakers to blast Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” at the protesters.
The ruling is likely to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states, and people on both sides of the issue predicted the fight would continue.
By Shiloh Payne
Protests have picked up again across the US
Hundreds of pro-abortion activists have converged on the US Supreme Court for a second day to protest the end to the constitutional right to abortion.
It comes one day after the United States Supreme Court ruled in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision.
There are widespread protests across the country and even a demonstration overseas in France.
Reuters is reporting that police have shot tear gas canisters into crowds of protesters in from of Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix.
Good morning, I'm Shiloh Payne and I'll be taking you through the latest updates today.
