June 24, 2022 Roe v. Wade news

By Adrienne Vogt, Aditi Sangal, Elise Hammond, Meg Wagner and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 8:19 a.m. ET, June 25, 2022
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1:56 p.m. ET, June 24, 2022

Congressional Black Caucus calls on Biden to call for national emergency

From CNN's Annie Grayer

In the wake of the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade, the Congressional Black Caucus, led by Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, is calling on President Biden to declare a national emergency.

"I, along with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, are co-leading a letter to President Biden urging him to swiftly declare this unprecedented attack on abortion rights and access as the public health the national emergency that it is," Beatty said in a statement Friday.

The statement said the decision to restrict access to abortion care "will disproportionately endanger the lives of Black Americans."

"We have seen what life was like pre-Roe v. Wade, and America cannot afford to go back," the statement added.

Who gets abortions: Black women are three times more likely than White women to die of pregnancy-related complications, encounter racism from health care providers at higher rates, face unequal pay and are more likely than their White counterparts to lack health insurance.

Abortion rights advocates say the pay disparity alone hampers Black women's ability to secure affordable childcare and housing. And there are no federal laws that mandate paid maternity leave. Activists also argue that there has been little movement on federal police reform that they say would create safer environments for Black women to raise their children.

Some context: CNN has previously reported that Biden's administration has been working for months in preparation for the expected decision by the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Options for moves Biden could take include executive action that could make it easier for women to travel to receive abortions in states where the procedure is still legal or expanding access to medication abortion through the mail. Some advocates have also suggested leasing federal land for abortion clinics, bypassing state laws that restrict them.

CNN's Nicquel Terry Ellis contributed to this report

1:08 p.m. ET, June 24, 2022

"Sick to my stomach": 19-year-old reacts to Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade

From CNN's Gregory Krieg

She knew it was coming, but when word of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade popped up on Emma Green’s phone this morning, the 19-year-old from West Virginia was stunned.

“I felt sick to my stomach,” Green said. "My heart dropped because it felt more real. When (the draft court opinion leaked) there was still hope. Now it’s more real.”

Green, a marketing student at West Virginia University in Charleston, said she fully expected her home state to implement full prohibition. 

West Virginia has a so-called “zombie law” on the books banning abortion dating back more than a century that could snap back into effect with the high court’s ruling — a step that Republican Gov. Jim Justice appears prepared to push forward. 

“I will not hesitate to call a special session after consulting with the Legislature and my legal team if clarification in our laws needs to be made,” Justice said in a statement.

“I’m very concerned, especially where I’m from,” Green said. “Knowing that in my state it will definitely illegal altogether no matter the circumstances is really concerning for me, my friends, adults, anyone.”

Tonight, Green will join friends at a protest. For a Democrat who follows the news closely, but has never been an activist, she said, “It’ll be a good start.”

1:01 p.m. ET, June 24, 2022

"This is not over": Biden urges Congress to act and Americans to vote

President Biden said the Supreme Court's decision to end the Constitutional right to abortion "cannot be the final word" as he urged Congress to act and voters to take their frustrations to the polls.

"My administration will use all of its appropriate lawful powers. Congress must act, and with your vote, you can act," Biden said.

The President said the decision has made the US an "outlier among developed nations in the world," but it "is not over."

"You can have the final word. This is not over," he said.

Biden also called on those protesting the decision to remain peaceful.

"I call on everyone no matter how deeply they care about this decision to keep all protests peaceful — peaceful, peaceful, peaceful. No intimidation. Violence is never acceptable," he said, adding that "threats and intimidation are not speech."

1:00 p.m. ET, June 24, 2022

Biden vows to protect women's rights to travel and have access to medications and contraception

President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington, on Friday, June 24.
President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington, on Friday, June 24. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

President Biden said his administration will protect the "bedrock right" of women to travel from states that ban abortion to those that allow it, also pledging to protect women's access to medications.

"So a woman lives in a state that restricts abortion, the Supreme Court's decision does not prevent her from traveling from her home state to the state that allows it. It does not prevent a doctor in that state from treating her. As the attorney general has made clear, women must remain free to travel safely to another state to seek care they need," he said.

"If any state or local official — high or low — tries to interfere with a woman exercising her basic right to travel, I will do everything in my power to fight that deeply un-American attack," he added.

He also vowed to protect women's access to medications approved by the FDA and contraception.

Some states are saying that "they'll try to ban or severely restrict access to these medications," Biden said, adding that "extremist governors and state legislators are looking to block the mail or search a person's medicine cabinet" are "wrong and extreme and out of touch with the majority of Americans."

Biden said health organizations have said that "by limiting access to these medicines, maternal mortality will climb in America."

He adde the Department of Health and Human Services will ensure medications are available "to the fullest extent possible."

1:02 p.m. ET, June 24, 2022

Biden: The Supreme Court ruling is "literally taking America back 150 years"

President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington, on Friday, June 24, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington, on Friday, June 24, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Friday's Supreme Court ruling that overturns Roe v. Wade is "literally taking America back 150 years," said President Biden.

"The court laid out state laws criminalizing abortion that go back to the 1800s as rationale — the court literally taking America back 150 years," Biden said Friday. "It's a sad day for the country, in my view."

Biden looked ahead to the elections in November and said voters must vote for representatives who will restore abortion rights.

"Let me be very clear and unambiguous. The only way we can secure a woman's right to choose ... is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade as federal law. No executive action from the President can do that," he said.

"And if Congress, as it appears, lacks the votes to do that now, voters need to make their voices heard. This fall, you must elect more senators and representatives who will codify a woman's right to choose into federal law once again," Biden added.

"This fall, Roe is on the ballot. Personal freedoms are on the ballot. The right to privacy, liberty, equality — they're all on the ballot. Until then, I will do all in my power to protect a woman's right in states where they will face the consequences of today's decision," he said in his address.

WATCH:

12:52 p.m. ET, June 24, 2022

Overturning Roe v. Wade puts "the health and life of women" at risk, Biden says

President Joe Biden speaks at the White House on Friday.
President Joe Biden speaks at the White House on Friday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

President Biden said the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade marks a "sad day for the court and for the country."

"Today the Supreme Court of the United States expressly took away the Constitutional right from the American people that they already recognized. They didn't limit it. They simply took it away. That's never been done to a right so important to so many Americans, but they did it," Biden said.

Biden said with the Constitutional protection gone, "the health and life of women in this nation are now at risk."

The President said as the vice president and now as President, he has studied this case carefully to inform decisions about who to nominate to sit on the Supreme Court.

"I believe Roe v. Wade was the correct decision," he said.

12:52 p.m. ET, June 24, 2022

Biden says SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v. Wade is "a realization of an extreme ideology"

President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington, on Friday, June 24, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington, on Friday, June 24, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

President Biden, speaking after the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, placed the ruling on the three justices named by former President Trump, adding that "it's a realization of an extreme ideology."

"It was three justices named by one president, Donald Trump, who were the core of today's decision to upend the scales of justice and eliminate a fundamental right for women in this country. Make no mistake, this decision is a culmination of a deliberate effort over decades to upset the balance of our law," Biden said.  

"It's a realization of an extreme ideology and a tragic error of the Supreme Court in my view," he added.

"The court has done what it's never done before, expressly take away a constitutional right that is so fundamental to so many Americans that had already been recognized. The court's decision to do so will have real and immediate consequences," he said.  

12:39 p.m. ET, June 24, 2022

White House details action on call with stakeholders following Roe v. Wade ruling

From CNN's Betsy Klein

The White House joined a call following the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade Friday with key stakeholders, a source familiar with the call tells CNN, previewing forthcoming announcements on administrative actions on women's reproductive health. 

The Biden administration is expected to make three announcements, the source said, made by President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Attorney General Merrick Garland. The administration will enforce protection for medication-induced abortion and the Department of Health and Human Services will increase access to those medications. Women will have the right to travel to other states for abortion care and the Department of Justice will protect them if they choose to do so. And the Justice Department will also protect providers to advise women on abortions.  

The President is also expected to call on Americans to elect candidates who support abortion rights and to call on Congress to codify the protections in Roe. 

Representatives from NARAL, Planned Parenthood and Emily's List were among those on the call. 

12:46 p.m. ET, June 24, 2022

"It's a sad day for the court and for the country": Biden delivers remarks on Roe v. Wade ruling

From CNN's Kate Sullivan

President Joe Biden speaks from the White House on Friday, June 24.
President Joe Biden speaks from the White House on Friday, June 24. (Pool)

President Biden is delivering remarks on the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion, according to the White House.

"It's a sad day for the court and for the country," Biden said, speaking from the White House.

The White House has been bracing for the ruling from the nation's highest court, which was announced Friday morning, and has been planning next steps for months.

While there is little the President can do through executive action to fully mitigate the decision — and virtually nothing he can do to restore the nationwide right to an abortion — there are a number of steps Biden has been weighing in consultation with policy aides, political advisers and lawyers.

Some of the options the President has been considering include eliminating barriers to accessing medication abortion and challenging state laws that criminalize out-of-state travel to receive an abortion, CNN has reported. The President could also declare a public health emergency, which could shield doctors from legal liability if they treat patients in states where they are not licensed.

The President has also called for Congress to pass legislation codifying Roe v. Wade, but Democrats currently don't have the votes in the Senate to send such legislation to Biden's desk.