Image source, Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump has celebrated today's ruling, telling Fox News the Supreme Court is "following the constitution".

"This brings everything back to the states where it has always belonged," he said.

Though Trump is no longer in office, the overturning of Roe v Wade will be heralded by many supporters as the capstone of his legacy.

While serving as president, he nominated three Supreme Court justices to the bench - tipping the court's ideological balance to a 6-3 conservative majority.

Today, all of the justices nominated by Trump - Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett - voted to overturn Roe and uphold Mississippi's abortion ban.

Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from Nashville

Alexa Kadan, 31, travelled from New York to Nashville, the "bachelorette capital of the United States", for the hen party of her friend.

She says while she knew the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade was coming, she is still "shocked".

“I am registered to vote so hopefully that’s a way to contribute to fix things. I want to focus on my friend’s celebration at the moment even though I am quite stressed at the back of my mind that Tennessee being a trigger state, women here might find it hard to access abortion.”

Nomia Iqbal
BBC News, Washington

There are at least 1,000 protesters outside the Supreme Court - most of them appear to be pro-choice. The anti-abortion groups peeled off a while ago after celebrating their victory.

Among the pro-choice activists is 19-year-old Paxton Smith from Texas. She electrified abortion rights advocates when she used her graduation speech last year to criticise Texas’s impending abortion laws.

“I’m here to show with my body and my voice that I’m not going to stand for this and the loss of human rights across this country. I knew this was going to happen, but it’s still hit me hard,” she says.

Her home state has now said it will ban abortion completely following the court's decision.

“That’s my home state, I don’t want to leave. It’s so sad that could even be a question. Is the answer to leave or is it to fight back against the state for taking our rights?

“It’s hard to say what’s the next step.” She sighs. “For me it’s about showing up and protesting and making my voice heard as much as possible.”

Will this be an issue for her when it comes to November's midterm elections and all elections moving forward?

“Yes! Absolutely. This is a big part of my reasoning for who I will vote for, and a lot of people from my generation will see this as a huge determining factor.”

Alison Hunter
BBC News

Outside the Women's Health Care Centre in New Orleans, Louisiana, all is quiet and no-one is here.

The state's trigger law has kicked in since the Supreme Court decision this morning, and abortion is now illegal.

There are no exceptions for rape or incest, although there is an exception to save the life of the pregnant mother.

And so the clinic - one of only three left in Louisiana - has closed, and its employees have gone home.

Linda Kocher volunteered here to escort patients attending the clinic past the protesters who would gather outside daily.

Rich women will be ok but "poor women will end up in a back alley" for their illegal procedures, Linda tells me, almost too emotional to get her words out.

Another local resident, Lindsey, says: "It is the saddest day. I feel like I’m going to throw up."

But not everybody is unhappy.

A jubilant Pastor Bill Shanks says: "It's a day for celebration."

Image source, Getty Images

Today's Supreme Court ruling is likely to "fundamentally destabilise" long-standing views of the court as a trustworthy institution that is only "half political", according to Keith Bybee, the vice-dean of Syracuse University's law school.

In an interview with the BBC, Bybee said that, for decades, polls have shown a majority of Americans consider the Supreme Court to be one of the most trusted institutions in the country, behind only the military.

However, he said today's decision "strongly emphasises" newer perceptions of the court as a "partisan institution".

"That perception isn't of a court that's half political, half legal, but all political," he said. "No different than what you would see in Congress, for example."

"It's already evident in our public discourse, that people are treating and talking about the court as nothing more than just another arena of influence and bias," Bybee added.

In the future, Bybee said that perceptions of the court as a political, partisan institution will lead to more pressure for accountability and change.

"There will be more pressure to make sure that the membership of the court can change more rapidly to reflect changing political perspectives in the country," he said.

Barbara Plett Usher
State Department Correspondent, BBC News

The pro-choice protesters clustered in front of the Supreme Court are angry, determined and fearful. I started reading aloud the slogans on the signs, pausing at this one: “If you want an abortion, get a vasectomy.”

“Yes!” said one of the demonstrators who heard me, turning round.

This was Lorilee Seuss, a middle-aged woman from Iowa. She told me she’d had an abortion when she was younger. It was really hard, she said, but she didn’t regret it. With her eyes tearing up she said she felt sad and worried for young women.

One young woman, Sadie Coons, stood in fierce silence, so enraged she could hardly speak. She was holding a sign that said “What other rights will they take away?”

“LGBTQ rights are next on the list,” she told me, “according to [Justice] Clarence Thomas.”

“Look at them,” she added, pointing with an expletive to the anti-abortion rights activists nearby. “They’re celebrating. People are in pain, people are going to die. It’s natural to be upset especially if people are reveling in your pain.”

Sadie said she would keep fighting, and protest outside the homes of the justices of the “illegitimate corrupt Supreme Court” because “we are taking baby steps into fascism.”

American women have had a guaranteed right to abortion since 1973, with the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case known as Roe v Wade.

Back then, America's top court ruled that a set of Texas statutes criminalising abortion violated a woman’s constitutional right to privacy.

The case created the"trimester" system that:

• Gave American women an absolute right to an abortion in the first trimester(three months) of pregnancy.

• Allowed some government regulation in the second trimester of pregnancy.

• Declared that states could restrict or ban abortions in the last trimester as the foetus nears the point where it could live outside the womb(unless doctors say it is necessary to save the woman’s life or health).

Women seeking abortions in the US are disproportionately young, poor, and already have at least one child.

For these women, the cost of transport, time off work, and time away from home may be too high a price to pay.

"Access to abortion will become a practical unreality for most people," said Katherine Franke, director of the Center for Gender and Sexuality law at Columbia University.

"For lower-income pregnant people, it will be devastating."

As President Biden said earlier, the abortion ruling appears to leave the US an “outlier” in the world, with most international leaders expressing their support for pro-choice women’s rights.

French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna said “the overturning by the US Supreme Court on the right to abortion marks a major setback for fundamental rights”.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described the ruling as: “One of the darkest days for women’s rights in my lifetime. Obviously the immediate consequences will be suffered by women in the US - but this will embolden anti-abortion and anti-women forces in other countries to.”

In Mexico pro-choice organisation Las Libres, which helps US women travel over the border to access abortions, said: “The women of the United States cannot even believe that we are helping in Mexico. We are guaranteeing the security of women because the law is not right, the law is restrictive, and it only puts people’s lives at risk.”

One source of support for the Supreme Court has been the Vatican’s Academy for Life, which praised the decision by saying it “challenges the whole world”.

Angelica Casas
Video journalist, BBC News

Beth walked into the Allied Women’s Center in San Antonio, Texas, this afternoon, perhaps not knowing that it has an anti-abortion mission.

She was distraught for two reasons - the possibility of her 16-year-old daughter being pregnant and the likelihood of her not having access to an abortion, if she desired one.

Just that morning, her daughter, who declined to speak to us, told her she was no longer a virgin and suspected she could be pregnant. They walked into this crisis pregnancy centre after seeing the "free pregnancy test" sign outside.

“For 50 years we were able to do what we wanted to do with our bodies and if we wanted to have a baby or not,” Beth said, her voice cracking. “It’s scary to know my daughter might not have that option.”

Waiting for the test results, the pair argued about what this could mean for them - financially and socially. Beth seemed angry at her daughter, but told her she would support her.

“To think someone making rules can dictate her life, my life, my husband’s life - It’s just not fair,” Beth said.

The pregnancy test came back negative - the teenager’s suspicions were probably wrong.

But still nervous about the implications of a possible pregnancy, they headed off to get a blood test for the teenager instead.

Image source, Getty Images

As we reported earlier, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion for the majority that the Supreme Court should "reconsider" other past decisions, including on gay marriage.

The nation's high court guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry in a 2015 ruling, with Thomas - widely regarded as the most conservative member of the court - among four justices dissenting from the decision.

Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in that case and currently a candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives, has now criticised Justice Thomas over the remarks

"Clarence Thomas is a Supreme Court justice appointed by humans, he is not the Supreme Deity," he said.

"The millions of loving couples who have the right to marriage equality to form their own families do not need Clarence Thomas imposing his individual twisted morality upon them."

Angelica Casas
Video journalist, BBC News

Tere Haring has been waiting for this moment for more than 50 years.

Outside of the crisis pregnancy centre she runs on the outskirts of downtown San Antonio, Texas, the street is quiet.

But inside, she’s been trying to figure out a security plan in case protests target the centre, she’s answering phone calls from reporters on what today’s Scotus decision means for anti-abortion supporters like her - and she’s still attending to the families stopping by for pregnancy tests or baby supplies.

“I’m happy,” she told her staff this morning when she walked in to the office, shortly after the decision was published.

Just as Haring walked in, the centre's first patient of the day was walking out.

The young woman had just found out she is at least six weeks pregnant but, despite her inclination to have an abortion for financial reasons, she agreed to see a doctor for an ultrasound first after speaking to the volunteers here.

Haring opened the Allied Women’s Center in the 1990s, but she’s been an anti-abortion advocate most of her life, her conviction heavily founded on her faith.

“Every human life needs to be protected,” Haring said, as she watched President Joe Biden speak about the decision.

“It represents that we acknowledge the humanity of the unborn.”

In Texas, which already has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, the procedure is expected to be completely banned in 30 days because of a so-called "trigger law".

“I’m glad I live in Texas where the decision is pretty much to ban abortion," Haring said, adding the decision did not change her mission.

"I’m still going to be helping women choose life and make it easier for them to help their child."

If you're just joining us, here are the latest updates:

• President Joe Biden has called the Supreme Court's decision "a sad day" for the US and called on voters to have "the final word" in an ongoing battle for abortion rights.

• A number of US states - including Washington, Oregon, and California - have vowed to be a safe haven for women from across the country seeking abortions.

• So-called "trigger laws" have come into effect in five states, making abortions immediately illegal. Abortion bans will come into force in eight other states in the next few days and weeks.

• Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves celebrated the ruling and said he'd "never been prouder" of the state. Several other Republican governors have also applauded the decision.

• Protests are expected in more than 50 cities across the US on Friday evening.

• The US Department of Justice has said it "strongly disagrees" with the ruling, which it said would disproportionately impact women of colour and limited means.

Holly Honderich
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Mark Story

"It's a great day for the American people: Roe v Wade is now behind us."

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has joined the chorus of anti-abortion advocates in celebrating today's verdict.

Fitch played a particularly significant role in overturning Roe - using her powers as Mississippi's top lawyer to ask the Supreme Court to allow her state's ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and get rid of Roe.

Today, she won.

And according to Fitch, today's ruling is a victory for all women.

Roe forced women to "make a choice" she has said: career or children, not both.

Now, in a world without abortion, she said "babies will be saved" and mothers "get a chance to really redirect their lives".

"They have all these new and different opportunities that they didn't have 50 years ago."

Read more about Lynn Fitch and her mission to "empower women"

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It is difficult to overstate how much the 1973 Roe decision has shaped US history over the last half century.

It led to the rise of the evangelical movement within the Republican Party, as Christian conservatives formed a political identity around abortion – and other social and cultural issues - and worked to influence policies through their activism.

Both parties shifted and became increasingly polarised as a result of Roe. In the first few decades after the decision, it was common to have pro-abortion-rights Republicans and anti-abortion Democrats.

Over the decades, both parties slowly purged themselves of these outliers, as they became increasingly aligned on cultural and (as a consequence) geographic boundaries.

The maps of where abortion will be banned or greatly limited bear a striking resemblance to the red-state, blue-state maps that are familiar to anyone who follows US presidential elections.

The nation, with a few exceptions, has divided into coastal and urban liberal enclaves and heartland and southern conservative strongholds.

How the course of American politics will take shape is uncertain.

The abortion fight could simply shift from the courts to the state legislatures. The cultural wars driven by the debate could fade, as the nation settles into an uneasy balance of states with abortion guarantees or bans.

Or the battles could become hyper-charged and move to other hot-button social issues that, like abortion, rest on Supreme Court precedent.

Samantha Granville
BBC News, Arkansas

The staff at Little Rock Family Planning Services have spent the morning calling patients to cancel appointments and help them rebook in different states. The closest clinic is five hours away in a different state.

Ashli Hunt, a registered nurse at the Arkansas clinic, broke down in tears this morning and immediately had to run outside to catch her breath. I check in on her a couple hours after the decision came down.

She told me: “No matter how hard we prepare for bad news, when it finally hits, it hits hard. Having to call these patients and tell them Roe V Wade was overturned is heartbreaking.”

She’s worked at the clinic for 14 years. Ashli says she’s heartbroken for the patients who are losing their choice, but also that she’ll be stripped of what she was meant to be doing with her career.

“Not only are they taking the choice, away from women, but they're taking what I feel like I should be doing away from me,” she said. “You know what, my choice is included in that.”

Geeta Pandey
Reporting from Delhi

Gender justice activists in India have described the ruling as "a huge step back for women’s rights" and say it’s guided by "Victorian morality".

Dr Veena JS, an activist and forensic medicine professor who teaches medical ethics to doctors, says the Roe v Wade ruling will impact women’s reproductive rights not just in the US but will have a cascading effect around the world too.

"America is generally a model for the world and I fear, at some point, India could take a cue from them and bring in a similar legislation," she says. "And we will be forced to raise children we don’t want."

And, Dr Veena says, it would lead to a spurt in crimes - by pushing abortions underground and even see violence directed at babies where women have not given birth willingly.

Abortions have been legal in India since 1971, although with conditions - especially to curb female foeticide in a country with an overwhelming preference for sons.

But because of a general lack of awareness among women, stigma attached to the topic and doctors’ reluctance to perform abortions out of religious or moral beliefs mean a majority of abortions are still held outside of registered medical facilities.

Image source, Getty Images

Two moderate senators - Susan Collins and Joe Manchin - played a pivotal role in the narrow confirmations of conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

After today’s decision overturning abortion, in which both Kavanaugh and Gorsuch sided with the majority, both lawmakers have condemned the two justices.

Collins, a Republican from Maine, said the decision was "inconsistent with what Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their testimony and their meetings with me, where they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon".

“Throwing out a precedent overnight that the country has relied upon for half a century is not conservative," she wrote.

"It is a sudden and radical jolt to the country that will lead to political chaos, anger, and a further loss of confidence in our government."

Her Democratic counterpart, from West Virginia, tweeted that he was "deeply disappointed".

Manchin, a Catholic who considers himself “pro-life” has been vocal in his support for abortion rights. He was one of only three Democrats to vote to confirm Gorsuch, and the lone Democrat vote for Kavanaugh.

“I trusted Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh when they testified under oath that they also believed Roe v Wade was settled legal precedent and I am alarmed they chose to reject the stability the ruling has provided for two generations of Americans."

Will Grant
Reporting from El Salvador

Just as they felt the tide was beginning to turn on abortion in Latin America, many reproductive rights’ campaigners now fear the worst following the Scotus ruling on Roe v Wade.

“This will embolden the most conservative groups in our countries who consistently deny women rights”, says Mariana Moisa, a leading pro-choice activist in El Salvador where abortion is banned in all cases including rape and incest.

“The denial of the human rights of women and girls being forced to bear children who are the product of abuse” already disproportionately affects the poorest in society, she said. Further criminalising abortion, she argued, provided “no solutions beyond punishment”.

Meanwhile, anti-abortion politicians who control El Salvador’s parliament have welcomed the move and insist that their position on abortion remains the dominant view in the Americas.

While the Supreme Court was solely concerned with the law in US states, Washington continues to exercise a huge influence over Central America.

Ms Moisa said the message being sent out by this ruling was stark: “It’s lamentable. A retrograde step, which only goes to illustrate the contempt and lack of concern which exists around the world for women.”

Rianna Croxford
BBC News

I’m currently on a flight to Tennessee – one of 13 states in the US with abortion “trigger bans” that will automatically come into effect.

On the plane, it’s the only topic of conversation. One woman, who’s heading to Nashville to celebrate her 30th birthday, says the decision is a “hard pill to swallow”. Another passenger claims it’s a major step back in the evolution of the US.

As the ruling was announced, one member of airport staff was nearly in tears.

“I’m lost for words, I want to cry,” she tells me. “Who is anyone - especially a man - in any position to tell me what I can and can’t do with my body?"

"This is going to be devastating for people of colour,” she adds.

“You’re saying we’re not looking after our kids, but now you’re not giving us a choice.”