President Joe Biden has arrived and is beginning his address to the US.

Stay tuned here for more updates.

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Progressive lawmaker Elizabeth Warren has responded with outrage to the ruling.

“Six radical Supreme Court justices have overturned nearly 50 years of precedent,” the Democrat, who represents the state of Massachusetts in the US Senate, said in a statement earlier today.

“Republican politicians have finally forced their unpopular agenda on the rest of America,” she continued.

"But these extremists will not have the final word."

Warren called on Democrats to remain angry and determined, and use the tools at their disposal to fight back.

When the draft opinion of Friday's ruling leaked last month, the senator was among the first lawmakers to join protests outside the Supreme Court.

Women in states which ban abortions could find themselves denied access to doctors and emergency rooms, Healthy and Free - a grassroots Tennessee sexual health organisation - says.

In a statement the organisation said it expected "a push for a laws that directly criminalise pregnant people" and people who experience pregnancy loss.

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It is the highest court in the US and is often the final word on highly contentious laws, disputes between states and the federal government, and final appeals to stay executions.

It hears fewer than 100 cases a year and the key announcements are made in June.

Each of the nine judges - known as justices - serves a lifetime appointment after being nominated by the president and approved by the Senate.

The Supreme Court has been reshaped by three appointments under former President Donald Trump, and has been called the most conservative-leaning in modern US history.

Six of the nine current justices were appointed by Republican presidents. The other three were picked by Democratic presidents. The court needs a majority to set a ruling.

There’s more here on each of the justices.

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US President Joe Biden is expected to address the Supreme Court's ruling in a televised address in about 10 minutes, at 1230 local time (1630 GMT).

Previously, Biden said that a woman's right to choose "is fundamental".

While public discourse on abortion has intensified in recent years, public opinion has remained relatively stable.

A majority of Americans (62%) told Pew - a research centre based in Washington DC - in 2019 that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Only 38% said it should be illegal in all or most cases.

Similar figures were reflected by CBS News in 2021, when people were asked specifically about overturning Roe v Wade.

In that poll, 62% of those asked said they wanted it kept in place and only 38% said they wanted it struck down.

Young anti-abortion activists cheered outside the Supreme Court as the ruling came in.

"We are the pro-life generation and we have abolished abortion!" they chant.

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Some more reaction from across the globe now.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his "heart goes out to women who lost their abortion right" and described the Supreme Court's decision as "horrific".

The head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed his “disappointment” at the ruling, saying: “Women’s rights must be protected. And I would have expected America to protect such rights.”

We heard earlier from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and his view has been supported by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, whose chief executive Clare Murphy said she was “appalled” by “an assault on women’s human rights, their lives and their families”.

“Banning abortion does not remove women’s need to end a pregnancy. It simply makes it more difficult and dangerous,” she said.

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Planned Parenthood - the largest abortion provider in the US - has warned the consequences of the Supreme Court's ruling will be devastating and far-reaching.

The ruling will disadvantage "people who already face the greatest barriers to health care", it wrote.

“Make no mistake - this decision goes beyond abortion," said Jennifer Allen, CEO of the organisation's advocacy arm.

"This is about who has power over you, who has the authority to make decisions for you, and who can control your future."

But Allen continued "our fight is far from over".

"Generations before us have fought tirelessly to gain and protect our rights. Now it’s our turn to pick up the mantle".

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Abortion is a relatively common procedure in the US - nearly one in four women will have an abortion before the age of 45.

Here's a look at who the average abortion patient is.

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In an appearance on Fox News, former President Donald Trump was asked about the role he played in the overturning of Roe v Wade.

"God made the decision," Trump responded.

Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court during his term, effectively securing Friday's decision.

He told Fox News "this is something that will work out for everybody", including pro-choice Americans.

“This is following the Constitution, and giving rights back when they should have been given long ago," he said.

He added that the decision will leave the matter up to the states “where it has always belonged”.

Chelsea Bailey
Digital producer, BBC News

Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said he’s “unspeakably thankful” for today’s decision and is among the Christians who have been praying for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs Wade.

“The reversal of Roe was absolutely necessary and, in my view, it was a rare moment of quintessential courage at the Supreme Court,” he said. “It points to the future and what must now be a state-by-state effort to uphold the dignity and sanctity of every human life.”

But not all Christians in the US agree with Mohler’s call to abolish abortion access. According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, nearly three-quarters (74%) of white evangelical Protestants believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

However, almost two-thirds of black Protestants and a majority of non-evangelical white Protestants say the opposite - that the procedure should be legal in all or most cases - as do a majority of Catholics.

Rev Katey Zeh, a pro-choice ordained Baptist Minister, said she believes overturning Roe v Wade is handing a victory to “a loud minority [of Christians] that’s been allowed to dominate for so long.”

“People of faith who support legal access to abortion are the majority”, she said.

Disney, Sony, Paramount, Discovery and Netflix are among the major US studios who plan to reimburse employees for any travel expenses incurred while seeking an abortion.

Without the protection of Roe, the average American may now have to travel around 125 miles (200km) to reach the nearest abortion provider, according to the Myers Abortion Facility Database, external.

Other major American companies, including Amazon and JP Morgan have made similar promises to their employees.

Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Washington

Lauren Marlowe of the anti-abortion group Students for Life is live-streaming her happiness and those of others in her organisation.

She talks about states such as Arkansas that have taken steps towards restricting abortion rights and gives them a shout-out: “You go, guys!”

Meanwhile pro-choice activists who are disappointed in the decision walk past her, and one of them swears at her.

Marlowe is unfazed: “She’s not happy,” says Marlowe, moving quickly on.

She says that she and her colleagues think there could be attacks on activists in the coming weeks and says that people have already torn bumper stickers off her car.

“It’s going to get violent,” she says. “We’re ready.”

She dives back into the crowd, as the Queen song "Another One Bites the Dust", plays on loudspeakers.

Texas has become the latest state to trigger its abortion ban, with Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton saying that abortions "are now illegal in Texas".

The state previously passed a law - known as SB8 - that banned abortion after what some refer to as the detection of a foetal heartbeat. The law also gave people the right to sue doctors who perform an abortion past the six-week mark.

"Today, the question of abortion returns to the states," Paxton said. "And in Texas, that question has already been answered: abortion is illegal here."

Additionally, Paxton said that he was closing his office and making 24 June as an annual holiday in memory of nearly 70 million babies "killed in the womb".

"Our hearts and prayers go out to all of them," he said. "Never again should something like this happen in America.”  

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US President Biden is due to speak in about 45 minutes on the Supreme Court's ruling - but here has what he said after a draft decision leaked.

When it emerged the Supreme Court was likely to overturn Roe v Wade, Biden released a statement saying that a "woman's right to choose is fundamental".

Biden said that he wanted to be clear about three points:

Roe has been the law of the land for almost 50 years, and “basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned”.

Biden said he directed his Gender Policy Council and White House Counsel’s Office to prepare options for a response. “We will be ready when any ruling is issued,” he said.

Ahead of today's decision, he stated that “it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose” if Roe was overturned.

Nomia Iqbal
BBC News, Washington

More people are now congregating outside the Supreme Court, which is heavily fortified with a black fence.

Riot police are nearby as other police try to keep anti-abortion groups and pro-choice groups separate. Some protestors have pushed up against the gate that keeps them away from the Court. Behind the fence, heavily armed guards are patrolling to stop anyone from trying to get in.

Ever since the draft opinion was leaked, security here has been tight and there’s been concerns about the safety of the justices. None of them are thought to be inside the court.

There are also people just walking through and observing what’s happening. One woman beams whilst taking a selfie. She tells us she just wants to mark this important moment in American history.

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The UK prime minister has offered his thoughts on the abortion ruling from the US while speaking at a Commonwealth meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.

"It's a very important decision. I've got to tell you, I think it's a big step backwards", he said.

"I've always believed in a woman's right to choose and I stick to that view and that is why the UK has the laws that it does."

Sarah Smith
North America Editor

While this legal ruling will change the law, it will not settle the arguments over abortion. It will inflame them.

Jubilant anti-abortion campaigners have achieved something that seemed practically impossible only a few years ago. They believe thousands of babies' lives will now be saved.

Pro-choice advocates are left utterly dismayed as they think women's rights have just been set back 50 years to a time when women died as a result of illegal back-street abortions.

Recent polls suggest around two-thirds of Americans did not want to see the constitutional right to abortion removed.

In such contentious times, even the lofty Supreme Court itself becomes a character in the narrative, not just an adjudicator.

Before this ruling came out, a man with a gun and knife was arrested outside the home of one of the more conservative justices, saying he was upset by the leak of the draft ruling. Supreme Court justices now have to have security protection. That's how incendiary this issue is.

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If you're just joining us, welcome.

Here's a look back at what's happened so far:

• In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court's conservative majority voted to overturn Roe v Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion in the US after nearly 50 years

• The ruling - known as an opinion - was written by Justice Samuel Alito, who said that "the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion". Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas, both conservatives, wrote concurring opinions. Roberts said he would not have gone so far as to overturn Roe
• Thomas also wrote that the court should re-consider its past rulings on gay marriage and birth control
• The Court's three liberal justices dissented, saying the move was certain to curtail women's rights
• Republican-controlled states have rushed to respond - Missouri and Louisiana have already moved to ban abortion outright
• An estimated 40 million women are expected to lose abortion access in their states in the coming months