Roe v Wade overturned live: Obama and Trump react; Disney to help pay for abortions; Texas politician sends staff home to celebrate

Roe v Wade has guaranteed the right to an abortion for almost 50 years. The decision by the conservative-majority Supreme Court paves the way to about half of the 50 US states banning or heavily restricting the procedure.

Anti-abortion campaigners celebrate Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade
Image: Anti-abortion campaigners celebrate Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade
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That's all for our live coverage of the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade today. 

Thank you for following along. 

Before you go, here are some of our other stories on the topic:

'The beginning of the real work for the life movement in America'

Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican, told Sky News: "I am overjoyed, my heart is really full. I'm just absolutely thrilled that the Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v Wade with their ruling and I think this is a real answer and a prayer and the beginning of the real work for the life movement in America.

"If you look at a lot of the polling, a lot of Americans support life and are against abortion."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, suggested there was a contradiction with the Supreme Court saying states cannot make laws governing the constitutional right to bear arms but also stating states can overturn a constitutional right for a woman to have an abortion.

Ms Greene denied there was a contradiction: "I don't agree at all, protecting our gun rights gives Americans the right to defend themselves and that protects life, and ending abortion also protects the life of the unborn who can't protect themselves. So if we take away guns, we take away Americans' rights to defend themselves. If we keep abortion like she wants, then we continue to kill innocent people."

The first lady responds

The first lady, Dr Jill Biden, has said that the right for women to make decisions about their own bodies has been "stolen from us".

She has vowed to continue the fight for all generations, in order for women to decide their own futures.

From 'angry and disgusted' to 'overjoyed' - how women outside the Supreme Court reacted to the ruling

The US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade after nearly 50 years has been met with a range of emotions in America, from outrage to celebration.

To try to understand the feelings at play, Sky News spoke to a number of women who were among those gathered in Washington DC after the historic verdict came down.

You can read what they had to say below.

Apple, Mastercard and Meta among companies offering to pay for abortion travel expenses

A number of companies have said today that they will offer employees travel expenses if they need to travel to another state to seek an abortion. 

Disney became one of the first companies to do so, setting up another key fight with Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

Among those joining Disney are:

  • Amazon
  • Apple
  • Buzzfeed
  • Comcast (the owner of Sky and Sky News)
  • Mastercard
  • Meta (Facebook)
  • Microsoft
  • Netflix
  • Starbucks
  • Tesla
White House lays out what it will do to counter the SCOTUS decision

The White House says it will deploy a number of actions to try and legally work around the overturning of Roe v Wade today. 

In a communication, the Biden administration says it will make efforts to encourage Congress to make the right to abortion a federal law, but in the meantime, it will protect the right to seek medical care.

The White House says the right for a woman to move across state lines to access health care should not be impeded, and the Supreme Court's judgement does not restrict that right.

The right to access medicine will also be protected, including for emergency contraception and medicated abortions. 

Protests - and celebrations - remain ongoing outside the Supreme Court
Vice President Kamala Harris delivers her response

Delivering a speech this evening, Vice President Kamala Harris said: "This is the first time that a constitutional right has been taken from the people of America."

She also said she was concerned about any future opinions made by the Supreme Court, such as the right to contraception and gay marriage, as alluded to by one of the justices.

"The aspiration of our nation has been to expand freedom, but the expansion of freedom is not inevitable... not unless we defend our most fundamental principles," she said.

Phoebe Bridgers lambasts 'old motherf*******' on Glastonbury stage

Performer Phoebe Bridgers has used her slot at Glastonbury to react to today's news. 

Standing on the John Peel stage, she took aim at "all these irrelevant old motherf****** trying to tell us what to do with our f****** bodies."

She went on to lead a chant of "f*** the Supreme Court".

Bridgers revealed last month she had an abortion.

She wrote: "I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour. 

"I went to planned parenthood where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access."

ICYMI: How did we get here?

It was on a Wednesday morning in June 2018 when America's journey towards a ban on abortion seemingly became inevitable.

One seasoned legal scholar told television viewers that morning: "You're going to see 20 states pass laws banning abortion outright."

The trigger was the announcement by Supreme Court judge Anthony Kennedy, one of the more liberal minds on the court, that he planned to retire later in the summer.

It gifted Donald Trump, the president at the time, the opportunity to appoint Brett Kavanagh as a replacement, one of the three conservative justices Mr Trump was to seat on the court during his four years in office.

Read our explainer from Sky's Greg Milam below