The United States Supreme Court ruled in their landmark decision last Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade. When the case was decided in 1973, women across the nation were given the Constitutional right to an abortion. Last week’s 5-4 conservative majority ruling will have implications throughout the nation as states work to rewrite abortion laws.

The Supreme Court’s ruling holds that the Constitution does not give women the right to an abortion. The court’s opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito with Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett siding with his opinion. Dissenting justices included Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Chief Justice John Roberts. Justice Roberts was the lone conservative who went against the conservative majority in overruling Roe v. Wade but voted with the majority to uphold Mississippi abortion restrictions.

Chief justice Roberts sought a middle ground so that Roe would not have to be overruled entirely in his concurring opinion. Roberts detailed in his opinion that there could be a middle ground in which Mississippi's 15-week limit on abortion could be upheld. Justice Alito pushed back in his opinion against Roberts' reasoning. Alito wrote, “there are serious problems with this approach, and it is revealing that nothing like it was recommended by either party. As we have recounted, both parties and the Solicitor General have urged us to either reaffirm or overrule Roe and Casey.”

Alito goes on to discount Chief Justice Roberts' opinion explaining that trying to find a “middle way” would only prolong the inevitable. Justice Alito explains, “The concurrence’s quest for a middle way would only put off the day when we would be forced to confront the question we now decide.” Alito explains, “The turmoil wrought by Roe and Casey would be prolonged. It is far better—for this Court and the country—to face up to the real issue without further delay.”

Justice Alito goes on to contend that Justice Roberts fails to show how the Constitution offers anyone the right to an abortion. Alito writes,” The dissent is very candid that it cannot show that a constitutional right to abortion has any foundation, let alone a ‘deeply rooted’ one.” Alito goes on, “The dissent does not identify any pre-Roe authority that supports such a right — no State constitutional provision or statute, no federal or state judicial precedent, not even a scholarly treatise.”

Alito's sharp opinion also takes scathing aim at the dissenting opinion’s attempt to balance when a woman's autonomous being should take precedence or when the life of a fetus should take precedence. Alito writes that trying to determine this balance “makes no sense” and that “it was not adequately justified in Roe, and the dissent does not even try to defend it today.”

What Does the Reversal of Roe v. Wade Mean at the State Level?

The Supreme Court's ruling takes away the constitutional rights of women to have an abortion and moves the decisions to the state level. Throughout the nation, twenty-six states are expected to implement limitations on abortions or restrict them severely. Of these states, 13 have what are known as “trigger laws” in place. Trigger laws are types of legislation designed to take place immediately should Roe v. Wade be overturned. The states which have these trigger laws include Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

In states where trigger laws will not be implemented, state leaders will have to decide whether predetermined yet dormant abortion laws will be enacted or whether new legislation will be brought forward to severely limit or restrict abortions.

What Does Roe v. Wade Mean for Women Throughout the Nation?

Women who want to get an abortion will now have to seek out services in states that allow them or will have to rely on pills purchased online, likely from overseas.

According to research compiled by the Guttmacher Institute, about one in four women obtained an abortion under Roe. While these women come from all sorts of backgrounds, data details that women who receive an abortion are disproportionately likely to be black, are typically unmarried, are in their twenties, come from poor backgrounds, and are likely to already have a child.

Many fear the lack of access to safe abortions under the care of a professional will force women to seek dangerous routes to obtain an abortion. Others worry that the restrictions will lead to other more severe consequences. In cases where women are seeking an abortion after instances of rape, concerns about their health, or the health of their unborn baby, the consequences could be damaging.

As of now, several major corporations have stepped forward with promises to help aid women seeking abortions with transportation costs for women who will need to leave their state.

As the dominos begin to fall after the Supreme Court's ruling last Friday, it is expected that women who are the most vulnerable and are seeking abortions will find it more difficult, if not impossible to seek out the services they need.