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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned its landmark decision Roe v. Wade that for nearly 50 years has secured women's federal right to obtain an abortion.

Now the right to obtain the procedure will depend on state law.

In a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative majority struck down the 1973 case holding that states, rather than the federal government, are vested with authority to regulate women’s reproductive choices. As a result, states are free to restrict, and even outlaw, abortion. Since Roe and a subsequent 1992 abortion rights case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey were decided, women across the U.S. have maintained the right to obtain an abortion up until about 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority in the case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

The court’s about-face solidifies an immediate shift in reproductive options for women in states seeking to restrict access to legal abortion.

According to the pro-choice research institute, Guttmacher Institute, as of April this year, laws in 26 states stood to either limit access to legal abortion or fail to protect it in the event that Roe was overturned — 22 of which they say have constitutional amendments or laws in place making them certain to attempt bans.

Thirteen states adopted “trigger” laws prior to the court’s decision. The laws, more restrictive than Roe, ban abortion earlier in a woman’s pregnancy and are designed to take effect in the event that the court overturned the seminal case.

Under Roe, the high court held that personal privacy guaranteed by the Constitution's 14th Amendment Due Process Clause included a right to decide whether to give birth. That right, the court held, extended up until the unborn child became "viable" or capable of sustaining meaningful life outside of the womb.

The court’s decision to withdraw the right to abortion up until viability has been anticipated since the first week in May when a rare leak allowed Politico to obtain a draft of Alito’s majority opinion.

The highly charged and personal debate has also spilled over into the corporate sphere.

Both before and after the leak, dozens of U.S. companies affirmed or reaffirmed employee benefits that allow workers states with laws more restrictive than Roe to access abortion care. Those benefits include reimbursement for travel expenses incurred to obtain abortion care that is legally unavailable within an employee’s home state, as well as moving expenses for employees to relocate to states without limitations exceeding those under Roe.

More U.S. companies are expected to take a public position on the matter.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-overturns-roe-wade-141521476.html?.tsrc=fin-notif