By EEW Magazine Online // Abortion Rights // Roe v. Wade

America was convulsed with anger, joy, fear and confusion Friday after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The canyon-like divide across the U.S. over the right to terminate a pregnancy was on full display, with abortion rights supporters calling it a dark day in history, while abortion foes welcomed the ruling as the answer to their prayers.

Dr. Alveda King, founder of Speak for Life and Chair of the Center for the American Dream at America First Policy Institute (AFPI) was among the joyful.

"For 49 years, ‘we the people’ have had to endure a flawed and unconstitutional ruling from the Supreme Court that allowed unelected judges to create a national right to abortion that ultimately led to extreme actions, like late-term abortions, against the unborn,” she said in a statement obtained by EEW Magazine Online.

The 71-year-old niece of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and daughter of slain civil rights activist, Rev. A.D. King, continued, “Today, the Supreme Court has rightfully overturned that decision, sending the power to regulate abortion back to the elected officials at the state level. I have longed for and prayed for this day. And I will continue to fight for human dignity for everyone - from the womb to the tomb."

The In eliminating the constitutional right to abortion that has stood for a half-century, the high court left the politically charged issue up to the states, about half of which are now likely to ban the procedure. Some states, such as Oklahoma and Louisiana, had bans already on the books that automatically went into effect when Roe fell.

Hundreds of people surrounded the barricaded Supreme Court in Washington, some questioning the high court’s legitimacy, while others cheered the ruling and proclaimed the dawn of a “post-Roe” world.

Many young people in the crowd wore red shirts that read “The Pro-Life Generation Votes,” while chanting, “Pro life is pro woman!”

Others involved in the decades-long fight for women’s rights felt an acute setback to the movement but remained hopeful it might prove temporary.

Carol E. Tracy, the executive director of the Women’s Law Project in Philadelphia, was “absolutely furious” over the ruling.

The reaction across the country largely fell along predictable political lines.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a conservative Republican widely considered a potential candidate for president in 2024, tweeted: “The Supreme Court has answered the prayers of millions upon millions of Americans.”

The issue is certain to intensify the fall election season. Both sides intend to use the issue to energize supporters and get them to vote.

King, who is no stranger to abortions, said in 2016, "I did have some secret abortions myself, which I repented from when I was born again in 1983," she said. "I drank the abortion Kool-Aid temporarily because I thought it was the answer."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.