Protests are continuing across the United States after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established the constitutional right to an abortion. The conservative court ruled 6 to 3 on Friday in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to uphold a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, while voting 5 to 4 to overturn Roe. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts supported upholding the Mississippi law but not overturning Roe. Nine states have already banned abortion since Friday, and 17 more states are expected to do so soon. In his majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote, “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” In their dissent, the court’s three liberal justices wrote, “With sorrow—for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent.” Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas sided with the majority but argued in a concurring opinion that other key landmark rulings establishing gay rights and the right to contraception should also be overturned. At a protest Friday outside the Supreme Court, California Congresswoman Maxine Waters denounced the ruling.

Rep. Maxine Waters: “You see this turnout here? You ain’t seen nothing yet. Women are going to control their bodies no matter how they try and stop us. The hell with the Supreme Court. We will defy them. Women will be in control of their bodies. And if they think Black women are intimidated or afraid, they got another thought coming. Black women will be out in droves. We will be out by the thousands. We will be out by the millions. We are going to make sure we fight for the right to control our own bodies.”