June 25 Roe v. Wade news

Planned Parenthood of Utah filed a lawsuit Saturday seeking to block the state’s abortion ban that went into effect following the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

The so-called “trigger law,” passed by Utah in 2020, went into effect late Friday, according to a letter sent by John L. Fellows, the general counsel for the Utah Legislature, which was provided to CNN by KUTV. 

Exceptions to Utah’s abortion ban include cases of rape or incest, detection of severe birth defects, or prevention of the death of serious injury of the person giving birth. Performing an abortion in violation of the law is a second-degree felony.

In the lawsuit cited by Planned Parenthood of Utah, the organization argued that the abortion ban violates the state constitution and that the Utah Supreme Court “has made clear that state constitutional guarantees may be more expansive than those under federal law.” The organization is seeking a temporary restraining order and injunctive relief to prevent enforcement of the law.

“Although Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ... has revoked the right to previability abortions under the U.S. Constitution, the Utah Constitution serves as an independent source of rights for Utahns,” the suit said.

The abortion rights group said in the suit that it had "no choice but to stop performing abortions" after the law took effect and that it canceled appointments on Saturday for about a dozen patients who had procedures scheduled.

The Utah Attorney General's Office told CNN Saturday it had "no comment at this time" when asked for its response to the suit.

CNN’s Elizabeth Wolfe contributed to this report.

Saturday is the first full day for outright bans on abortion in some states after the Supreme Court overturned the nearly half-century-old Roe v. Wade decision.

Three states – Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota – have so-called “trigger bans” that went into effect automatically. Ten other states have trigger bans with implementation mechanisms that occur after a set period or after a step taken by a state government entity.

Yesterday, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately to explicitly call for other rulings to be revisited.

“In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell,” Thomas wrote, referring to decisions on contraception, sodomy and same-sex marriage. Liberals said that those rulings are now at risk.

Here are the latest developments:

Biden says SCOTUS decision is "devastating:" President Joe Biden acknowledged his administration’s frustration with Friday’s ruling, calling this week's Supreme Court decisions "terrible."

The White House said Biden “is going to continue to find solutions” to ensure abortion rights, but did not offer details on potential executive actions the administration is weighing to do so.

Protests largely peaceful, with some arrests: Demonstrators gathered in front of the Supreme Court and in cities around the US again to protest the decision. While the protests were largely peaceful, there were a few incidents Friday and early Saturday, including a tense situation with anti-abortion activists at the only Mississippi abortion clinic, tear gas used to disperse a crowd in front of the state capitol, and abortion rights supporters in Los Angeles marching onto a freeway.

Governors shore up resources: Minnesota’s governor issued an executive order Saturday providing protections for people coming to Minnesota for reproductive healthcare from states where abortion is illegal or criminalized, according to a release from Gov. Tim Walz’s office. 

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee vowed to make his state a “sanctuary state” for reproductive choice for people across the country, regardless of abortion bans existing in other states. He pledged a $1 million down payment to start subsidizing reproductive healthcare networks across the state ahead of an anticipated influx of patients. 

Just after 10 a.m. ET, on Friday morning, a man at the National Right to Life Convention in Atlanta shouted, "Roe's been overturned!"

Inside the room, some started clapping, while others checked their phones in the minutes after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that had made access to abortion a federal constitutional right. The session was derailed. Convention-goers hugged one another, and some were visibly emotional.

The moment at the National Right to Life's annual convention was a win that advocates had fought for decades through organizing, lobbying and voting.

Read more from the ground in Atlanta.

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Ten people were arrested Friday night in Eugene, Oregon, during a demonstration dubbed a “Night of Rage” in response to the US Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade, according to a release from Eugene Police Department. 

Those arrested ranged in age from 18-to-29 years old, according to the release. Nine people were charged with disorderly conduct, one of whom was also charged with resisting arrest. Another demonstrator was charged with harassment, police said.

Police said demonstrators started gathering Friday night just before 9:30 p.m. local time in front of a medical building in the city’s downtown. Police said the protesters wore black clothing, masks and hoods, and they appeared to have backpacks as well. 

Police said the crowd grew to more than 75 people who blocked roadways and vehicles. According to the release, protesters at one point were seen throwing rocks or other objects. An unknown individual also threw smoke bombs at police officers, according to the release. 

Police said the crowd became rowdy and hostile after not complying with orders to clear the roadway. 

The department called in additional resources, including the Springfield Police Department and Department of Homeland Security, according to police.

Officers deployed chemical-free pepperballs — a pepper-spray projectile — at the crowd when it blocked the roadway of an essential route for first responders. At that point, the crowd size decreased, according to the release. 

Police have not said if any injuries were sustained during this time, and it is unknown if those arrested remain in custody as of Saturday afternoon.

Protests across the US surrounding the SCOTUS decision have been largely peaceful.

During a news conference Saturday afternoon on the steps of Washington state’s capitol building, Gov. Jay Inslee vowed to make Washington a “sanctuary state” for reproductive choice for people across the country, regardless of abortion bans existing in other states. 

Inslee announced an upcoming executive order that will direct state police not to comply with any possible extradition efforts from other states seeking to penalize those who travel to Washington to receive an abortion. 

Inslee also called for legislation to codify the right to abortion into state law as an amendment to Washington’s constitution. 

Inslee said he is promising a $1 million down payment to start subsidizing reproductive healthcare networks across the state ahead of an anticipated influx of patients. 

Personnel and medical equipment will need to be “amped up,” he said, adding that he’s “relatively confident” these resources will be available. 

Inslee, as well as Dr. Erin Berry, Washington’s medical director for Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest – were questioned about how Washington’s healthcare infrastructure will withstand the strain of possible patient overload. 

Inslee did not specify when the executive order will be released. 

Health care experts fear that with Roe v. Wade overturned, potential widespread abortion bans will deepen the United States’ maternal mortality crisis. Providers told CNN they worry that reducing access to abortion — by closing clinics, setting early gestational limits or outlawing the procedure altogether — may lead to more pregnancy-related deaths in the United States.

Rates of pregnancy-related deaths in the US are the highest in the developed world and have risen steadily over time, with Black women three times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than White women. The CDC recently reported that the rate of pregnancy-related deaths increased from 20.1 in 2019 to 23.8 in 2020, continuing a worrying trend of worsening maternal health outcomes for people in the United States.

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, 26 states are poised to ban abortion through pre-existing bans or “trigger laws” that will now go into effect without the landmark ruling no longer in place. As a result, more than 10 million people of reproductive age would have to cross state lines to access the procedure in the nearest state where it is legal, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy institute that supports legal abortion rights.

Maternal mortality rates are already high in those states certain or likely to ban abortion — 47% higher than the national rate, according to a CNN analysis of 2018 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most recent available.

Overall, states with the most restrictive abortion laws had a 7% higher maternal mortality rate than states with fewer restrictions, according to a 2021 study in the American Journal of Public Health.

States that restricted abortion based on gestational limits saw a steep rise in the maternal mortality rate by 38%, according to a 2020 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. A 20% reduction in Planned Parenthood clinics in a state between 2007-2015 resulted, on average, in an increase in the state’s maternal mortality rates by 8%.

Read more here:

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In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, some have pointed to past statements justices have made while nominees regarding abortion during their confirmation hearings.

In 2020, then-SCOTUS nominee Amy Coney Barrett was asked by Sen. Amy Klobuchar about an article in which she referred to "super precedent."

Then-nominee Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 also said Roe v. Wade was an “important precedent.”

In 2017, Neil Gorsuch said that "it has been reaffirmed many times."

"Part of being a good judge is coming in and taking precedent as it stands. And your personal views about the precedent have absolutely nothing to do with the good job of a judge," he said.

In 2006, nominee Samuel Alito called Roe v. Wade “a precedent that has now been on the books for several decades.”

Back in 1991, Clarence Thomas said, "I have no reason or agenda to prejudge the issue or ... predisposed to rule one way or the another on the issue of abortion."

Watch here:

Minnesota’s governor issued an executive order Saturday providing protections for people coming to Minnesota for reproductive healthcare from states where abortion is illegal or criminalized, according to a release from Gov. Tim Walz’s office. 

With the executive order, Walz joined fellow Democratic governors who hurriedly took legislative or legal action in response to the US Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade, CNN has reported. 

Several other states also had “trigger bans,” which either totally or partially restricted abortion access automatically with the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.

In the release, Walz said his office will protect people from such states who are traveling to Minnesota for an abortion “to the fullest extent of their lawful authority.”

Walz’s executive order also directs state agencies to work to protect Minnesotans providing, seeking or obtaining lawful reproductive health care services, according to the release. 

According to the release, the order is effective immediately. 

CNN’s Kate Conerly contributed to this report

President Biden does not favor expanding the Supreme Court and hasn't changed his stance on eliminating the filibuster, the White House said Saturday, throwing cold water on steps some liberal Democrats have called for in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling stripping the nationwide right to abortion.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden does not agree with calls for court expansion, affirming the stance the President held as a candidate remains in place, even as he's skirted the issue more recently.

While running for president, Biden said he was "not a fan" of expanding the court. Later, he deferred to a commission he established to examine various options for court reform.

The commission issued a final report in December, but it doesn't contain any recommendations, only analysis of various options. And Biden has not signaled any intent to act on the ideas since then.

That will prove disappointing to activists, who have renewed calls for expanding the court in the wake of Friday's decision. 

Similarly, Jean-Pierre offered little indication Biden had altered his stance on eliminating the filibuster — even if the Senate gained more Democrats who favor those steps.

"I don't think the filibuster will play a role there," she said, suggesting instead that electing more Democratic members to Congress was the principal objective.

Biden has opposed an outright elimination of the legislative filibuster, but has backed certain reforms. But even some Democrats have opposed changes, making any type of reform unlikely.