By The New York Times June 24, 2022

The Supreme Court on Friday overruled Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion after almost 50 years in a 6-to-3 ruling. New York Times reporters are reading the majority opinion and continually providing analysis below.

Friday’s historic opinion, written by Justice Alito and joined by the Supreme Court's conservative bloc, overturns almost 50 years of precedent. Justice Alito's guiding principle is that a right to an abortion cannot be found in the Constitution. He adheres to a legal philosophy known as “original intent,” which involves scrutinizing the founding document's language to derive direction on contemporary issues.

Note: The appendixes of the majority opinion are not presented here and can be read in the original document.

Key Questions: Is abortion illegal now? How will abortion access change? Here are answers to some of your fundamental questions.

Abortion Travel: There are currently no abortion laws that attempt to prosecute women who cross state lines to seek the procedure, though the ruling drastically increased the distances many women will need to travel for an abortion.

Medication Abortions: Demand for abortion pills is surging, setting the stage for new legal battles. For now, it is still legal in most states to receive abortion medication by mail.

Plan B: In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling, many women are stocking up on so-called morning-after pills. Here’s how these differ from abortion pills.

How Far Will the Court Go?: The Supreme Court’s decision to end ​​the constitutional right to abortion could be just the beginning of a sharp rightward shift on rights pertaining to other personal matters, including contraception and same-sex marriage.

Biden Speaks Out: The president has condemned what he called the “outrageous behavior” of the court, saying that he supports ending the filibuster to protect a woman’s right to an abortion and a broader constitutional right to privacy.

Democrats’ Response: The initial reaction by party leaders to the ruling struck many Democrats as painfully inadequate.

Tracking State Laws: Abortion is now banned in at least seven states, with trigger bans in several more set to take effect. See abortion laws in each state.

Statehouse Battles: Now that the right to abortions lies at the state level, the abortion fight has shifted to state legislatures, where gerrymandering has given Republicans an advantage.

Florida: In a welcome, but likely brief, victory for supporters of abortion rights, a judge in Florida blocked a state law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy that was scheduled to take effect on July 1.

Texas: As Texas braces for a likely surge in post-Roe births among poor women, even some anti-abortion adherents worry the state might be woefully unprepared for the influx.

Illinois: The state is quickly emerging as an island of abortion access for people in the Midwest and the South, as neighboring states move to ban the procedure.

Women: After the ruling, many American women were left questioning their place in society, at least in the Supreme Court's eyes. Some are now reconsidering their lives’ plans, including where they live.

Privacy Concerns: Tweets telling women to delete period tracker apps tracking their menstrual cycles out of concern that they might reveal an illegal abortion went viral after Roe was overturned. But experts say that doing that might not be enough.

District Attorneys: Deep rifts are emerging among the hundreds of elected officials responsible for enforcing the expanding restrictions on abortion, as liberal prosecutors vow to resist bans by refusing to bring charges against abortion providers.

Corporations and Businesses: The decision sent business leaders and employees scrambling for answers about how to react. Some companies said they would cover travel expenses for employees who need abortion.