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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday took the dramatic step of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion and legalized it nationwide.

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Thousands of abortion-rights activists gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court after the Court announced a ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case on June 24. The Court's decision overturns the landmark 50-year-old Roe v. Wade case and erases a federal right to an abortion.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Anti-abortion demonstrators celebrate outside the United States Supreme Court as the court overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision on June 24.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/Reuters

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Abortion-rights activist Ali Stovall is comforted as she reacts to the announcement to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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Abortion-rights activist react to U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on June 24.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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Anti-abortion activists celebrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24.Steve Helber/The Associated Press

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Abortion rights activists rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court after the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade, in Washington, D.C., on June 24.STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP/Getty Images

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The Supreme Court is reflected in a person's sunglasses as protesters gather following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24.Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press

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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reacts to the overturning of Roe v. Wade during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., June 24.MARY F. CALVERT/Reuters

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Abortion-rights advocates (from left) U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, Kendyl Underwood, 20, and Brittany Nickens, 26, right, react outside Planned Parenthood of Missouri in St. Louis after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on June 24.Robert Cohen/The Associated Press

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Eleanor Wells, 34, holds a sign as abortion rights protesters demonstrate in Los Angeles, California, on June 24.LUCY NICHOLSON/Reuters

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An abortion-rights activist reacts outside the Supreme Court on June 24. The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years.Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press

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Anti-abortion activist Mace Patty, of Rock Hill, S.C., wears necklaces with the years 1972 and 2022 on them following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24.Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press

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Anti-abortion activists celebrate Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24.Brandon Bell/Getty Images North America

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An abortion-rights activist wears tape reading "2nd Class Citizen" on their mouth as they protest outside the Supreme Court on June 24.Jacquelyn Martin/The Associated Press

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Abortion rights supporters protest in New York, N.Y., on June 24.CAITLIN OCHS/Reuters

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Abortion-rights activists Carrie McDonald (second from left) and Soraya Bata (second from right) react after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on June 24.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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Abortion rights activist and artist Jon Mort, 38, stands in front of the Washington Monument with his piece titled "Gates of Hell" after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Dobbs v. Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision on June 24.ANDREW KELLY/Reuters

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