Politics: US Supreme Court ends constitutional right to abortion - Roe v Wade

 Politics: US Supreme Court ends constitutional right to abortion - Roe v Wade 

The Supreme Court just lobbed a constitutional hand grenade into the raging culture wars in the US, igniting a fresh battle in this decades-long fight over abortion.

In a 6-3 ruling, the court found that there was no constitutional right to abortion, turning the decision of whether to allow abortions or not up to the states. Millions of women are now expected to lose access.

While this legal ruling will change the law, it will not settle the arguments over abortion. It will inflame them.

Jubilant anti-abortion campaigners have achieved something that seemed practically impossible only a few years ago. They believe thousands of babies' lives will now be saved.

Pro-choice advocates are left utterly dismayed as they think women's rights have just been set back 50 years. Back to a time when women died as a result of illegal back-street abortions.

Recent polls suggest around two-thirds of Americans did not want to see the constitutional right to abortion removed.

Outside the Supreme Court, demonstrators from both sides had gathered before the judgement came, with police keeping them apart.

One anti-abortion activist told the BBC she was "elated" as her side cheered the decision. "It's not enough just to make this the law of the land. To be pro-life is to make [abortion] unthinkable," she said.

Across the divide, pro-choice supporters decried the decision as "illegitimate" and even a form of "fascism".