Live Updates: Supreme Court Roe v. Wade Decision reaction in Georgia

7:55 p.m.

Update: Crowds gather in front of the Georgia State Capitol as hundreds protest SCOTUS overturning.

5:45 p.m.

Update: U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff released a statement on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization:

4:42 p.m. 

Update: In a Twitter thread, President Biden explains what today's decision means for Americans:

4:36 p.m. 

Update: A statement from Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez:

3:55 p.m.

Updates from GPB reporters around the state:

• In Atlanta, Riley Bunch:  Georgia Democrats outraged, Republicans cheer as Supreme Court guts abortion rights
  

• In Macon, Sofi Gratas and Grant Blankenship: In Macon, maternal health experts see differing implications post Roe
  

• In Savannah, Benjamin Payne: Statement from Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, who is in Germany right now: “While here in Berlin talking to German leaders about American freedom and choice, today Americans lost a bit of both. While not surprising, this is so disappointing. I believe in a woman's right to make her own health care decisions, not men and not politicians.”
  

2:55 p.m.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr today issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“I believe in the dignity, value and worth of every human being, both born and unborn. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs is constitutionally correct and rightfully returns the issue of abortion to the states and to the people – where it belongs.

“We have just filed a notice in the 11th Circuit requesting it reverse the District Court’s decision and allow Georgia’s Heartbeat Law to take effect.”

2:43 p.m.

GPB will carry PBS NewsHour primetime TV special set for 8:00 p.m. Click here to watch.



Tonight Judy Woodruff will anchor a special report on the impact of this legal and cultural change. The End of Roe: A PBS NewsHour Special Report will look at the division on the court, the anti-abortion activism that led to today’s decision, the next steps as the battle over abortion access shifts to the states, and looks back at the history of pre-Roe America and what will come next.

1:41 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, the Democrat who represents Georgia's 5th Congressional District, describes to GPB News' Riley Bunch joining protests at the Supreme Court with fellow House members and her plans for action moving forward toward November:

1:20 p.m.

GPB's Political Rewind discusses the Roe decision on air at 2 p.m. Click here to listen.

The Political Rewind team goes live at 2 p.m. today to address the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Bill Nigut navigates what this means for Georgia with GPB's Donna Lowry, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein, Emory University's Andra Gillespie, and Georgia State University's Amy Steigerwalt.

12:53 p.m.

Update from GPB reporter Benjamin Payne in Savannah:

More reaction from Georgia's 1st Congressional District:

Republican U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter: “Millions of children have been silent victims of a decades-long siege on their right to life. The heartbeats heard in ultrasound appointments have now been heard by the Supreme Court, and we finally have a nation that honors the humanity of unborn children. We followed the science, and it led us to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that life begins at conception. The same unborn children that can feel pain in the womb will one day feel immense joy knowing that their life was valued from day one.”

Democratic nominee Wade Herring: “The Supreme Court made the wrong decision to overturn well-established law based on the fundamental right of privacy. I trust women to make healthcare choices about their bodies. Reproductive rights are healthcare rights. Now that the Supreme Court has reversed Roe v. Wade, Congress must act to restore reproductive rights. When elected, I will fight for federal legislation to ensure women's right to choose. I am the only candidate for Congress in Georgia’s 1st District who trusts women to make their own healthcare decisions. Elections matter, and your vote makes a difference.”

12:39 p.m.

Watch President Joe Biden's remarks to the nation.

12:25 p.m.

Update from GPB public policy reporter Riley Bunch:

Georgia abortion providers are scrambling to let residents know that as of today, abortion is still legal in Georgia. 

The state's strict six-week abortion ban will likely go into effect in the coming weeks but still needs to be addressed by a federal court of appeals.

"While this is devastating news and will affect the entire country, today abortion is legal and accessible in Georgia," Kwajelyn Jackson with the Feminist Women's Health Center, told GPB News. "And that we do not want people to panic, to cancel their appointments, to feel that they are without options."

Statement from the Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, David Ralston:  

“Today’s historic decision by the U.S. Supreme Court protects the role of federalism by returning ‘authority to the people and their elected representatives’ as the Constitution demands. The State of Georgia, and our House of Representatives, has long championed the rights of the unborn dating back to the Fetal Pain Bill in 2012 and the LIFE Act in 2019. I am proud that the House has also championed significant legislation to nurture a culture of life in Georgia – extending postpartum Medicaid coverage, providing a paid parental leave benefit for state employees, and modernizing Georgia’s adoption code.”

 

Thread from DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston:

11:40 a.m.

Additional reactions from Georgia, more to come:

11:02 a.m.

In case you are just joining us, we are providing live updates and content from NPR and GPB reporters.

A recap from NPR:

In a 6-3 vote along ideological lines, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a strict Mississippi abortion law. It also overturned Roe v. Wade, the 50-year-old case that was the basis for legal abortion across the United States. 

• What happens next: Widespread bans on abortion in the United States likely will have far-reaching effects
• What states are doing: Because of laws set to go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned, dozens of states across the country are poised to ban or severely restrict abortion. But many others have moved to expand access to and increase legal protections around abortions in anticipation of the ruling.

10:41 a.m.

Reaction from Georgia's elected officials:

Today, U.S. Sen. Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) released the statement below after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“I’ve always believed a patient’s room is too small a space for a woman, her doctor and the United States government,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade ends a core protection for women to make their own health care decisions, and is a departure from our American ideals to recognize and protect basic rights. This misguided decision is devastating for women and families in Georgia and nationwide.”

“Across the country, states have already passed dangerous and uncompromising restrictions that put politicians in charge of health care, instead of women and doctors,” continued Senator Reverend Warnock. “Our work to restore the right of women to determine and access their own care must continue. I’ll never back down from this fight because women should be able to make their own health care decisions.”

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U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07) released the following statement:

“Today is a sad day for all Americans. After decades of attacks, abortion rights in the United States have been toppled and women will die because of this decision.

“In Georgia, this could have immediate consequences. HB481 — a controversial 6-week abortion ban passed by Gov. Kemp and state Republicans — could go into effect within weeks. This means women and doctors can face criminal prosecution over seeking life-saving medical care. Georgia is regularly ranked as one of the worst in the nation for maternal mortality. Women in Georgia are more likely to die as a result of complications with childbirth than in any other state in the nation, and HB481 will only make this worse. 

“I am mortified to see the work of generations of women wiped away by Supreme Court Justices who do not share the values of a vast majority of Americans. Women’s health care is not debatable. I will keep fighting to restore what we have lost and protect our bodies, our lives, and our futures from the reactionary majority on the Supreme Court we have today.”

10:32 a.m.

GPB News' Riley bunch wrote about what the decision would mean for Georgia in a May article after a leaked draft opinion showed the Supreme Court intended to overturn abortion rights, which would open a likely path for Georgia’s six-week abortion ban to be upheld.

The document, published by POLITICO, was written by Justice Samuel Alito in February and says that the highest court in the country has voted to strike down the 1973 decision made in Roe v. Wade.

10:15 a.m.

The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, reversing Roe v. Wade, the court's five-decade-old decision that guaranteed a women's right to obtain an abortion.  NPR has more