Good afternoon, I'm Ron Trevino
and I'm rekha. Maraj.
Swift reaction from across the Nation
Today after the Supreme Court's
decision to overturn Roe V Wade,
we have team coverage explaining
the decision and what this
means for women in Texas,
and we're starting with Skyler,
Henry Live in Washington DC, Skyler.
Hey there, good to be with you.
Well earlier today President Biden
called the courts decision as sad
day for the court and a sad day
for the country while also calling
on Congress to pass meaningful
legislation to try to restore some of
the things that Roe V Wade provided.
Meanwhile, the implications from
this decision will impact 10s of
millions of women across the country,
especially those in several GOP LED
states where trigger laws are in effect.
This nation must not stand. Protesters
erupted outside the Supreme
Court after the justices ruled
to overturn Roe versus Wade,
hoping for the best.
But it's clear that these justices
don't care about the majority
of Americans and their voices.
This is gonna be like history.
This is just the beginning of,
you know, the Pro life generation.
You know, being there
for women for the unborn,
writing for the majority justice.
Samuel Alito said, the Constitution
does not confer a right to abortion.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined
the other five conservatives.
Upholding Mississippi's abortion ban.
But wrote he would have stopped
short of over ruling Roe outright.
It's a sad day for the court and
for the country's president.
Biden called the decision wrong in extreme.
Now with Roe gone. Must be very clear.
The health and life of women
in this nation are now at risk.
The courts.
3 Liberals agreed writing they
dissented with sorrow for the many
millions of American women who have
today lost a fundamental constitutional
protection. The court's
ruling wasn't a surprise.
It had been forecast several weeks ago,
following a leaked draft indicating
which way the justices were
leaning. The decision is expected to lead
to abortion bans in roughly half the states.
This decision is a victory for the Pro
Life movement and for the generations.
Generations of Americans
who never gave up hope the
ruling puts the court at odds
with a majority of Americans.
CBS News polling found 2/3
wanted the court to leave Roe
versus Wade in place as it has
been for nearly half a century.
And we talked about those trigger
laws that will ultimately outlaw
abortions in most cases.
While several abortion providers
across the country have either
cancelled their appointments
for today or closed altogether,
meanwhile happening outside
of the Supreme Court today,
thousands of people on both
sides of this issue continue to
pile outside of the High Court
after this seismic decision.
We're here outside of the Supreme Court.
I'm Skyler Henry.
Back to you
all, right, thank you so much
Skyler and our team coverage
continues here in Houston.
Rallies are planned on
both sides of the issue.
Melissa Correa. Joins us
live near downtown Melissa.
Hey there Ron's rally in support of
abortion rights set to happen at
6:30 this evening in downtown's
Tranquility Park, which is just across
the street from Houston City Hall.
This is going to be the latest
rally in support of abortion rights.
Just last month thousands of
people packed Discovery Green,
also in downtown, protesting that
leaked Supreme Court draft that
suggested today's overturn of Roe V.
Wade was coming in that crowd.
Bostonians disappointed in today's reversal.
We're talking about women who
rallied for a woman's right to
choose more than 50 years ago.
We're talking about young people who believe
the right to abortion comes down to the
right to privacy and choice in America.
Planned Parenthood.
One of the most well known abortion
rights advocacy groups is pausing
abortions until it's legal team can
figure out the next step here in Texas.
Today's decision will make it
that much harder for people to
access safe and legal abortion,
and it opens the floodgates for
abortion bans across the country.
We all believe that this pause and
abortion care while heartbreaking.
Is the best way to protect
our staff and patients.
And ensure that we remain strong
viable organizations providing
healthcare in the years to come.
And that health care and family planning
services provided by Planned Parenthood
will continue and is continuing today.
In addition to the abortion rights
rally set to happen at Tranquility Park,
we're hearing of other groups
planning to rally outside of the
federal courthouse later today.
Ron thank you so much.
Melissa Correa and there are other
groups rejoicing after today's ruling.
Anti abortion rights supporters
calling today's ruling a victory.
Jason Miles joins us live
with their reaction Jason.
Neither Ronya, despite the
heat and it is hot out here.
I'm told folks who fought against abortion
rights over the last five or so decades.
Many of them will gather here
tonight outside Houston's primary
Planned Parenthood clinic.
Now a slew of anti abortion rights groups.
As you might imagine,
quickly reacted to the ruling today
saying they will are cautiously
optimistic they were rather cautiously
optimistic following the earlier leak
suggesting things would go this way.
The Archdiocese of Galveston, Houston,
also weighing in this afternoon,
Cardinal Dinardo,
calling it quote a positive step toward
creating a life affirming society.
Meantime,
here's what representatives
from a couple of other groups
based up in Austin had to say.
We are rejoicing over the
news that came out today.
Praise God for it.
I personally am very excited from
a faith perspective from a science
begins at conception perspective
and an organizational perspective.
We've been working towards
this day for a very long time.
This has been 50 years in the
making and so we are excited
and thankful that the Supreme
Court has overturned Roe and
returned this authority to protect
preborn children to the state.
Now take a look at this.
The news came down this morning amid
a weekly protest outside a Women's
Health centre off the Katy Freeway.
People there told me they
were also very happy,
and hope discourse can remain
peaceful moving forward.
Now the rally outside the Planned
Parenthood clinic behind me set
to get underway at 6:00 PM,
though as we mentioned earlier,
abortions here ceased as
a result of this ruling,
reporting off the Gulf Freeway.
Jason Miles KHOU 11 news all
right, thank you so much. Jason miles.
The Supreme Court decision
is already affecting clinics.
As you heard from Jason,
the Houston Women's Clinic has
posted a sign saying they will
no longer perform abortions.
Starting today,
local leaders are reacting to this.
Gerald Harris joins us live with
responses from both sides of the
aisle just months before voters
head to the ballot box, Gerald.
Yeah, the issue surrounding abortion
is being thrusted into the spotlight,
with some politicians celebrating
the victory of others. They say that
this needs to be an election issue.
Governor Greg Abbott,
who declined an interview with me,
sent a statement,
instead praising the Supreme Court's
ruling overturning Roe V Wade, saying,
in part, Texas is a pro life state
and we have taken significant action
to protect the sanctity of life.
Texas has also prioritized supporting
Women's Health care and expectant
mothers in need to give them the
necessary resources so that they
can choose life for their child.
His opponent, Beto O'Rourke,
says the ruling is devastating for
women in the country, but no more.
So then here in Texas,
we've got to make sure that we
reach every single voter across
the state of Texas and ensure that
they understand what's on the line.
It's a woman's right to choose,
and it's the very lives of Texas women,
a state that leads much of the
developed world in the rate of maternal
mortality 3 times as deadly for
black women in the state of Texas,
we have got to win, and we need you with us,
and we need you. Now
in Texas's chief law enforcement
officer, Attorney General,
Ken Paxton closed his offices today
to mark the historic decision.
And says, following the
Supreme Court's judgment,
which could take 30 days,
his office will assist in prosecuting
doctors and people who attempt an abortion.
Adding some prosecutors may choose
to immediately pursue criminal
prosecutions based on violations
of the Texas abortion prohibitions
predating Roe that were never
repealed by the Texas Legislature.
And there's still a ton of
reaction rolling in from
politicians throughout the state.
We have a list of those statements
on our website. Thatshou.com
back to you.
The Supreme Court's decision to
strike down Roe versus Wade now has
roughly half of all states poised to
ban or drastically restrict abortion.
But it won't happen all at once.
Let's start with a look
at so-called trigger laws.
13 states have them on the books
they are intended to automatically
ban or severely weaken abortion
access as soon as Roe is overturned.
As you can see on this map,
we've got Texas.
We've got Louisiana and Arkansas,
just some of the states that have
these trigger laws.
Texas's trigger law House Bill 1280 was
signed by Governor Abbott last year.
It will automatically ban abortions
and Texas doctors could face
life in prison or a $100,000
fine for performing them now.
In some states,
these laws will activate as soon
as a designated state official
certifies the Court's decision
that can happen within minutes.
In other states,
the laws will go into effect
within the next 30 days.
In their dissent,
the liberal justices made note of the fact.
That this would force people
to seek abortions elsewhere,
saying in part,
increased out-of-state demand,
will lead to longer wait times and
decreased availability of service
in states still providing abortions.
And that this is what happened in Oklahoma,
Kansas, Colorado,
New Mexico,
and Nevada last fall after Texas effectively
banned abortions past six weeks of gestation
once the trigger laws go into effect.
Here, patients in Texas will have
to drive an average of 542 miles.
To reach the nearest abortion clinic,
which takes us to the 16 States and
the District of Columbia that have
laws in place protecting abortion rights,
including California,
Nevada, Colorado,
Illinois, New York,
Maine and Hawaii.
The majority of people in Texas
seeking an abortion went to Oklahoma
for services after the state law went
into effect in September of 2021.
But as you know,
about a month ago,
Oklahoma signed the nation's
strictest abortion ban into law
preceding the Supreme Court decision.
We're gonna have much more coverage
on our website and you can see
reaction from more leaders and
in depth analysis of what this
ruling means for you.
Just had an hu.com