The US Supreme Court on Friday overturned the historic ruling protecting women's right to abortion in Roe v. Wade, which was filed in 1973, amid welcome from Republicans and broad opposition from Democrats and rights organizations.

The ruling eliminates half a century of constitutional protections for abortion in one of the most divisive issues in the American political scene.

The ruling came with a majority of 6 conservative judges opposed by the three liberal judges.

Under the ruling, each US state is now free to enact its own legislation to allow or prohibit abortion, and it is believed that about 26 states will definitely or likely prohibit abortion.

The court upheld a law in Mississippi banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a victory for Republicans and conservatives who want to limit or ban the order entirely.

The reasoning for the ruling issued on Friday stated that the 1973 ruling in the case (Roe v. Wade) that allowed abortion before the fetus could survive outside the womb, between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, was wrong because the US Constitution does not specifically mention abortion rights.

And the Minister of Justice of the US state of Missouri confirmed that his state is the first state to end the right to abortion and start implementing the Supreme Court's decision.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Washington, Bisan Abu Kweik, said that thousands of opponents of the ruling demonstrated in front of the court, with the participation of many Democratic representatives in Congress, on the other hand, hundreds of supporters of the ruling gathered in front of the court to celebrate what they considered a historic victory.


Expected judgment

A draft ruling written by Judge Samuel Alito and indicating that the court would likely invalidate the Roe v. Wade ruling was leaked in May, sparking a political storm.

Today's verdict, written by Alito, largely matches the leak.

"The constitution does not refer to abortion and there is no implicit protection for such a right in any provision of the constitution," Alito wrote in the ruling.

The tribunal's three liberal justices issued a joint objection, saying, "Whatever the actual extent of the laws to come, there is one certain consequence of today's decision: the curtailment of women's rights and their status as free and equal citizens."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the ruling as an insult to all women, stressing that abolishing the right to abortion achieves the extremist goal of the Republican Party.

While former US President Barack Obama said that the US Supreme Court targeted the basic liberties of Americans.

In turn, Amnesty International said that the US Supreme Court's decision to abolish the right to abortion represents a bleak mark in the history of the United States, she said.

They added that today's ruling will result from the first moment of fertilization that women have little rights.

A state can compel her to complete a pregnancy even with the most difficult personal and family effects.”

Former Republican President Donald Trump had promised in his 2016 election campaign to appoint judges to the Supreme Court who would overturn the ruling (Roe v. Wade), and he had already managed to appoint three conservative justices during his four-year term, which favored the right-wing in the court and established a conservative majority of six judges. against three liberals.

Incumbent US President Joe Biden, after the leak, denounced the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade's ruling as an "extreme step" and urged Congress to pass legislation protecting the right to abortion nationwide.

But Republican lawmakers blocked the move.