U.S. Supreme Court overturns protections for abortion set out in Roe v. Wade | CBC News

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the Roe v. Wade opinion that has secured constitutional protections for abortion in the U.S. for nearly 50 years.

The milestone ruling, a draft of which was leaked last month, has the potential to claw back abortion access across the country by allowing states to restrict or outright ban the procedure.

Friday’s 6-3 decision delivered by Justice Samuel Alito, with all three liberal justices dissenting, reverses the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. That original ruling found that a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy was protected by the right to privacy that flows from the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects a citizen’s right to “life, liberty and property.”