U.S. Supreme Court rules there’s no right to abortion, setting up Texas ban

Abortion rights demonstrators protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision, in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 2022. (Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune)

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional protection for abortion and allowing states to set their own laws regulating the procedure. This represents one of the most significant judicial reversals in generations and is expected to have far-reaching consequences for all Texans.

Texas will ban all abortions from the moment of fertilization in the coming weeks, with narrow exceptions only to save the life of a pregnant patient or prevent “substantial impairment of major bodily function.” There will be no exception for rape or incest. But abortions in the state have already ceased, clinics said, out of concern that pre-Roe laws might still be on the books.