Following Roe's reversal, Biden calls it 'a sad day' for the court and the U.S.

By Ximena Bustillo

Published June 24, 2022 at 11:46 AM CDT

People protest about abortion on Friday outside the Supreme Court in Washington.

Updated June 24, 2022 at 12:44 PM ET

President Biden is delivering remarks on Friday's Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

Watch Biden's remarks live at 12:30 p.m. ET:

"The health and life of women of our nation are now at risk," Biden said. "Make no mistake. This decision is the culmination of a deliberate effort over decades to upset the balance of our law."

Biden emphasized that this is the first time the court has revoked a constitutional right.

"The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority," the court's conservatives wrote in their majority opinion. The Court overrules those decisions and returns that authority to the people and their elected representatives."

The three liberals dissented.

Within minutes of the ruling's release, Democratic congressional leaders put out statements admonishing voters to elect more Democrats while Republicans praised years of activism and pushed to go further.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., called out two of the justices who joined the majority: "I trusted Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh when they testified under oath that they also believed Roe v. Wade was settled legal precedent and I am alarmed they chose to reject the stability the ruling has provided for two generations of Americans."

Democrats currently control Congress, but they are expected to lose those majorities in the November midterm elections, which would allow Republicans to pass legislation on abortion.

A visibly angry House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denounced the decision and vowed the issue would be a factor in the midterm elections.

Pelosi warned: "Be aware of this: the Republican are plotting a nationwide abortion ban. They cannot be allowed to have a majority in the Congress to do that, but that's their goal."

The parties have fought bitterly about abortion rights for years, and Friday's statements highlighted the acrimony between them, as they traded accusations of "extremism" and being "radicals."