WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday stripped away the nation’s constitutional protections for abortion that had stood for nearly a half-century. The decision by the court’s conservative majority overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling and is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

The ruling, unthinkable just a few years ago, was the culmination of decades of efforts by abortion opponents, made possible by an emboldened right side of the court fortified by three appointees of former President Donald Trump.

Both sides predicted the fight over abortion would continue, in state capitals, in Washington and at the ballot box. Justice Clarence Thomas, part of Friday’s majority, urged colleagues to overturn other high court rulings protecting same-sex marriage, gay sex and the use of contraceptives.

Pregnant women considering an abortion already were dealing with a near-complete ban in Oklahoma and a prohibition after roughly six weeks in Texas. Clinics in at least two other states, Wisconsin and West Virginia, stopped performing abortions after Friday’s decision.

Abortion foes cheered the ruling, but abortion-rights supporters, including President Joe Biden, expressed dismay and pledged to fight to restore the rights.

“It’s a sad day for the court and for the country,” Biden said at the White House. He urged voters to make it a defining issue in the November elections, declaring, “This decision must not be the final word.”

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, agreed about the political stakes.

“An entirely new pro-life movement begins today. We are ready to go on offense for life in every single one of those legislative bodies, in each statehouse and the White House,” Dannenfelser said in a statement.

The ruling came more than a month after the stunning leak of a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito indicating the court was prepared to take this momentous step.

It puts the court at odds with a majority of Americans who favored preserving Roe, according to opinion polls.

Alito, in the final opinion issued Friday, wrote that Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 decision that reaffirmed the right to abortion, were wrong had to be be overturned.

“We therefore hold that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote, in an opinion that was very similar to the leaked draft.

Joining Alito were Thomas and Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett. The latter three justices are Trump appointees. Thomas first voted to overrule Roe 30 years ago.

Four justices would have left Roe and Casey in place.

The vote was 6-3 to uphold the Mississippi law, but Chief Justice John Roberts didn’t join his conservative colleagues in overturning Roe. He wrote that there was no need to overturn the broad precedents to rule in Mississippi’s favor.

Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — the diminished liberal wing of the court — were in dissent.

“With sorrow—for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent,” they wrote, warning that abortion opponents now could pursue a nationwide ban “from the moment of conception and without exceptions for rape or incest.”

The ruling is expected to disproportionately affect minority women who already face limited access to health care, according to statistics analyzed by The Associated Press.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the Justice Department will protect providers and those seeking abortions in states where it is legal and also “work with other arms of the federal government that seek to use their lawful authorities to protect and preserve access to reproductive care.”

In particular, Garland said that the federal Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of Mifepristone for medication abortions.

More than 90% of abortions take place in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, and more than half are now done with pills, not surgery, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.

Mississippi’s only abortion clinic, which was at the center of Friday’s case, continued to see patients Friday. Outside, men used a bullhorn to tell people inside that they would burn in hell. Clinic escorts wearing colorful vests used large speakers to blast Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” at the protesters.

Mississippi is one of 13 states, mainly in the South and Midwest, that already have laws on the books to ban abortion in the event Roe was overturned. Another half-dozen states have near-total bans or prohibitions after 6 weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.

In roughly a half-dozen other states, the fight will be over dormant abortion bans that were enacted before Roe was decided in 1973 or new proposals to sharply limit when abortions can be performed, according to Guttmacher.

West Virginia and Wisconsin, where clinics paused abortions, have bans dating from the 1800s.

The decision came against a backdrop of public opinion surveys that find a majority of Americans oppose overturning Roe and handing the question of whether to permit abortion entirely to the states. Polls conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and others have consistently shown about 1 in 10 Americans want abortion to be illegal in all cases. A majority are in favor of abortion being legal in all or most circumstances, but polls indicate many also support restrictions especially later in pregnancy.

Outside the barricaded Supreme Court, a crowd of mostly young women grew into the hundreds within hours of the decision. Some shouted, “The Supreme Court is illegitimate,” while waves of others, wearing red shirts with “The Pro-Life Generation Votes,” celebrated, danced and thrust their arms into the air.

The Biden administration and other defenders of abortion rights have warned that a decision overturning Roe also would threaten other high court decisions in favor of gay rights and even potentially contraception.

The liberal justices made the same point in their joint dissent: The majority “eliminates a 50-year-old constitutional right that safeguards women’s freedom and equal station. It breaches a core rule-of-law principle, designed to promote constancy in the law. In doing all of that, it places in jeopardy other rights, from contraception to same-sex intimacy and marriage. And finally, it undermines the Court’s legitimacy.”

And Thomas, the member of the court most open to jettisoning prior decisions, wrote a separate opinion in which he explicitly called on his colleagues to put the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage, gay sex and contraception cases on the table.

But Alito contended that his analysis addresses abortion only. “Nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion,” he wrote.

Whatever the intentions of the person who leaked Alito’s draft opinion, the conservatives held firm in overturning Roe and Casey.

In his opinion, Alito dismissed the arguments in favor of retaining the two decisions, including that multiple generations of American women have partly relied on the right to abortion to gain economic and political power.

Changing the makeup of the court has been central to the anti-abortion side’s strategy, as the dissenters archly noted. “The Court reverses course today for one reason and one reason only: because the composition of this Court has changed,” the liberal justices wrote.

Mississippi and its allies made increasingly aggressive arguments as the case developed, and two high-court defenders of abortion rights retired or died. The state initially argued that its law could be upheld without overruling the court’s abortion precedents.

Justice Anthony Kennedy retired shortly after the Mississippi law took effect in 2018 and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in September 2020. Both had been members of a five-justice majority that was mainly protective of abortion rights.

In their Senate hearings, Trump’s three high-court picks carefully skirted questions about how they would vote in any cases, including about abortion.

Friday’s long-anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling has overturned Roe v. Wade, though that doesn’t mean that there will be a nationwide ban on abortions. Instead, abortion policy will be left up to state and local lawmakers.

Twenty-six states are now certain or likely to ban the procedure, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Residents in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey won’t be immediately affected by the Supreme Court’s decision — however, that could change by November’s midterm elections, especially in the Keystone State.

Beyond abortion care, the Roe reversal could have other, serious implications for Americans across all states, including decreased access to birth control, increased violence at clinics, and violations to digital privacy.

Here’s a round-up of what’s at stake in our region.

Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks after a person’s last menstrual period. A patient seeking an abortion must receive state-mandated counseling that includes information designed to discourage them from having an abortion, and then wait 24 hours before the procedure is provided.

Health plans offered in the state’s health exchange under the Affordable Care Act can only cover abortion if the person’s life is endangered, or in cases of rape or incest.

In 2020, there were 32,123 abortions performed in Pennsylvania, according to data from the state’s health department. Nearly half were to white individuals, followed closely by Black patients at 44%. About 11% of abortions performed in Pennsylvania were for Hispanic patients.

For now, abortion remains legal for Pennsylvanians. Governor Tom Wolf has been a strong advocate for abortion rights in the state, vetoing several bills passed by the Republican-controlled General Assembly that would further restrict abortion access. At a May rally in Philadelphia, Wolf promised to continue opposing anti-abortion legislation during his remaining months in office.

But come November, Pennsylvania voters will be choosing a new governor, and only one candidate — Attorney General and Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro — has vowed to maintain abortion protections. Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee, introduced a so-called “heartbeat” bill to Pennsylvania in 2019, which would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. (Medical and reproductive health experts say an embryo does not have a developed heart at six weeks’ gestation.)

Mastriano, a devout Christian who has made his religion central to his political career, has abortion views that go beyond much of the GOP. He has said he supports a total ban on the procedure without exceptions — including for rape, incest, or a medical emergency in which the parent’s life is at risk — and that he would pursue abortion policies that reflect those beliefs as governor.

Following the leak of the draft of the Supreme Court’s opinion in May, Democrats in the U.S. Senate moved quickly to try and pass legislation that would enshrine the 50-year-old ruling into federal law, but they were blocked by the GOP filibuster of the bill. Without Roe, protecting abortion rights nationally would require adding Democrats to the Senate, which means November’s race in Pennsylvania will be “all about this issue,” attorney Kathryn Kolbert said on WHYY’s “Radio Times.” Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman has said protecting reproductive freedom is “non-negotiable,” while Republican Mehmet Oz “looks forward to supporting pro-life legislation.”

If Pennsylvania’s current abortion laws remain intact, experts say there may be another outcome in a post-Roe world: Abortion providers in the state will likely see a surge in demand from out-of-state patients seeking the procedure. A report from the Guttmacher Institute estimates that the number of people within driving distance of Pennsylvania who could seek abortions there would increase by more than 1,000% if Roe is overturned — from 170,000 annually now, to 2.1 million. Though New Jersey’s and Delaware’s abortion protections are not at risk, neighboring Ohio is poised to pass an abortion ban after today, and West Virginia will also likely enact a ban.

Elicia Gonzales, executive director of ALF-PA, told WHYY News that she worries Pennsylvania health care providers and the state’s abortion funds will not be able to meet the demand of patients coming into the state seeking abortion care.

Planned Parenthood Keystone CEO and President Melissa Reed said the country is “at a crisis moment for abortion access,” but the organization has spent many months preparing for the moment, including expanding abortion availability in the state via telemedicine and direct-to-patient medical abortion, which sends abortion medication through the mail.

New Jersey

The right to an abortion — at all stages of pregnancy — is protected in New Jersey, thanks to the state’s Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act, which Governor Phil Murphy signed into law in anticipation of a Roe v. Wade reversal in January.

Unlike the previous version of the measure, the bill that passed this year does not require insurance providers to cover abortions. However, it does codify a person’s right to the procedure.

Additionally, the New Jersey Supreme Court explicitly recognizes the right to abortion under the state constitution, extending that protection beyond the federal constitutional protection.

In May, Murphy announced that he was seeking to strengthen abortion rights even further in the Garden State, by introducing two items left out of the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act: Requiring insurance companies to cover the procedure and prohibiting public agencies from cooperating with investigations of abortion providers.

In 2019, the state reported that 22,178 abortions were performed at hosptials and licensed ambulatory care facilities. Reporting of abortions is not mandatory in New Jersey for private physicians and women’s centers.

Similar to Pennsylvania, New Jersey is likely now to become a “safe haven” for those seeking abortions from other states.

Delaware

Abortion in Delaware is legal up to fetal viability, or after viability if the patient’s health is endangered, or if there is a lethal fetal anomaly.

Abortion was prohibited until 2017, when the state’s General Assembly repealed its pre-Roe ban and passed a law specifically protecting reproductive freedom.

That law ensures that abortion will remain legal in the state, even after the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

State representatives have tried since to pass restrictions on the procedure, but without success.

In 2019, there were 2,042 abortions performed in Delaware, 1,765 to residents, and 277 to non-residents, according to data from the state’s Department of Health and Social Services.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school.

“Time is of the essence. Lives will be saved,” he said in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Citing the families of shooting victims he has met, the president said, “Their message to us was, ‘Do something.’ How many times did we hear that? ‘Just do something. For God’s sake, just do something.’ Today we did.”

The House gave final approval Friday, following Senate passage Thursday, and Biden acted just before leaving Washington for two summits in Europe.

“Today we say, ‘More than enough,’” Biden said. “It’s time, when it seems impossible to get anything done in Washington, we are doing something consequential.”

The legislation will toughen background checks for the youngest gun buyers, keep firearms from more domestic violence offenders and help states put in place red flag laws that make it easier for authorities to take weapons from people adjudged to be dangerous.

The president called it “a historic achievement.”

Most of its $13 billion cost will help bolster mental health programs and aid schools, which have been targeted in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, and elsewhere in mass shootings.

Biden said the compromise hammered out by a bipartisan group of senators from both parties “doesn’t do everything I want” but “it does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives.”

“I know there’s much more work to do, and I’m never going to give up, but this is a monumental day,” said the president, who was joined by his wife, Jill, a teacher, for the signing.

After sitting to sign the bill, Biden sat reflectively for a moment, then murmured, “God willing, this is gonna save a lot of lives.”

He also said they will host an event on July 11 for lawmakers and families affected by gun violence. The president spoke of families “who lost their souls to an epidemic of gun violence. They lost their child, their husband, their wife. Nothing is going to fill that void in their hearts. But they led the way so other families will not have the experience and the pain and trauma that they had to live through.”

Biden signed the measure two days after the Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday striking down a New York law that restricted peoples’ ability to carry concealed weapons. And Saturday’s ceremony came less than 24 hours after the high court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, which had legalized abortion nationwide for nearly five decades.

“Yesterday, I spoke about the Supreme Court’s shocking decision striking down Roe v. Wade,” Biden said. “Jill and I know how painful and devastating the decision is for so many Americans. I mean so many Americans.”

He noted that the abortion ruling leaves enforcement up to the states, some of which have already moved to ban abortion or will soon do so. Biden said his administration will “focus on how they administer it and whether or not they violate other laws, like deciding to not allow people to cross state lines to get health services.”

Asked by reporters about whether the Supreme Court was broken, Biden said, “I think the Supreme Court has made some terrible decisions.” He walked away without answering more questions, noting, “ “I have a helicopter waiting for me to take off.”

While the new gun law does not include tougher restrictions long championed by Democrats, such as a ban on assault-style weapons and background checks for all firearm transactions, it is the most impactful gun violence measure produced by Congress since enactment a long-expired assault weapons ban in 1993.

Enough congressional Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the steps after recent rampages in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas. It took weeks of closed-door talks but senators emerged with a compromise.

Biden signed the bill just before departing Washington for a summit of the Group of Seven leading economic powers — the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — in Germany. He will travel later to Spain for a NATO meeting.

Pennsylvania state universities are seeing the biggest decrease in enrollment in more than a decade.

Enrollment across the 14 schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) has dropped by nearly 26%. The state system once enrolled 120,000 students, but that number dwindled to nearly 90,000 at the start of the 2021-22 school year.

PASSHE Chancellor Dan Greenstein said the reason for the decline in enrollment is the system’s lack of funding from the state.

“It costs $6,500 or more for a Pennsylvania resident to go to one of our public schools than it would cost a New York state resident to go to an equivalent SUNY school,” Greenstein said.

“Our students graduate on average with $39,000 worth of debt, $10,000 more than a SUNY student. We’re the most affordable four-year higher education opportunity in the state, but we’re pricing our students out of the markets.”

PASSHE leadership is asking the General Assembly for $550 million in state funding — an increase of $72 million or 15% — and $201 million annually in financial aid paid directly to a student financial aid program.

The system is also seeking $75 million of the remaining $150 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden last March.

The state system, which includes Bloomsburg, California University of Pennsylvania, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester, hasn’t increased its in-state tuition in four consecutive years.

Total attendance cost, including room and board, is $23,000 a year — nearly $100,000 for a four-year degree.

PASSHE already pulls $100 million a year from its operating budget to spend directly on financial aid. The state system plans to use the additional funding to further reduce tuition costs for students.

Pennsylvania ranks 46th in the nation in terms of investment per student in state-owned four-year universities, and state funding has declined by 35% or $252 million from 2000-2001 when adjusted for inflation, according to PASSHE’s website.

“Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities provide life-changing opportunities for middle- and low-income students with a quality education for in-demand jobs,” Greenstein said.

“This proposal to direct aid to students — combined with PASSHE’s efforts to freeze tuition and transform the system — will help more students afford to pursue their dreams of higher education.”

The funding request from PASSHE comes as lawmakers are negotiating the state budget, which must be passed by Thursday.

Gov. Tom Wolf supports the proposal to increase PASSHE funding. However, he is also promoting a proposal called the Nellie Bly Scholarship, which would allocate an additional $200 million to community college or PASSHE students who go into the fields of education, health care or public service.

“When it comes to higher education, skyrocketing coasts over the last decade have put that dream out of reach for too many families,” Wolf said in a written statement.

“Pennsylvanians are being priced out of a brighter future. When our brightest and best Pennsylvanians can’t pursue a higher education because it’s unaffordable, that means we’re doing something wrong.”

Greenstein said affordability, increasing financial aid and building multiple pathways for jobs will help more PASSHE students graduate in STEM and other growing industries.

Today, about 60% of Pennsylvania jobs require some higher education, but only 51% of adults in the commonwealth have it, according to PASSHE’s website.

“Our programs are aligned with jobs, but jobs have changed,” Greenstein said. “That gap stretched across the most critical industries that people depend on including health care, education and business.

“Businesses will not have the workers they need and the products people rely on unless more middle- and low-income students can afford to go college,” he added. “That is why increasing PASSHE’s funding is so important because we can prepare students for careers in growing industries through affordable pathways from our universities.”

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