Roe vs Wade overturned: Biden, Obama, Planned Parenthood react to US top court judgement

The United States Supreme Court on Friday ended the right to abortion in a seismic ruling. The conservative-dominated court overturned the landmark 1973 "Roe v Wade" decision that enshrined a woman's right to an abortion, saying that individual states can now permit or restrict the procedure themselves, as reported by AFP.

"The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives," the court said.

An angry President Joe Biden called on voters Friday to rise up over the Supreme Court's "tragic error" in ending the constitutional right to abortion, warning that an "extreme ideology" is already targeting other rights.

"The court has done what it has never done before -- expressly take away a constitutional right that is so fundamental to so many Americans," Biden said in the White House after the conservative-dominated Supreme Court overturned "Roe v. Wade."

Former US President Barack Obama slammed the decision by the Supreme Court to throw out the right to abortion in the United States by calling it an attack on "essential freedoms."

"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 Democrat tweeted.

Former US vice president Mike Pence on Friday said the right to abortion had been "consigned to the ash heap of history" as he hailed a Supreme Court ruling that ended 50 years of constitutional protections.

"By returning the question of abortion to the states and the people, this Supreme Court has righted a historic wrong, and reaffirmed the right of the American people to govern themselves," said Pence, a Republican potential presidential candidate and leading anti-abortion campaigner.

The leading abortion provider in the United States, Planned Parenthood, vowed Friday it would "never stop fighting" for those in need, after the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure.

"We know you may be feeling a lot of things right now -- hurt, anger, confusion. Whatever you feel is OK. We're here with you -- and we'll never stop fighting for you," the organization tweeted.

As reported by AP, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said he was acting immediately to enforce a state law banning abortion except in “cases of medical emergency.”

He tweeted, “Following the SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Missouri has just become the first in the country to effectively end abortion with our AG opinion signed moments ago. This is a monumental day for the sanctity of life.”

A women’s organisation called the United State of Women tweeted, “Abortion is a human right and politicians should never intervene with our decisions about our bodies. We join those across the country in our grief and determination. Don't wait to take action.”

(with inputs from agencies)