Obama: US top court abortion ruling an attack on essential freedoms

Former US President Barack Obama on Friday condemned the US Supreme Court ending constitutional protection for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years.

Obama said on Twitter that the decision is tantamount to an attack on freedoms for millions of Americans.

'Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues—attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans,' he tweeted

The court's conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday. The decision is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

Three of the court's liberal justices wrote in a joint dissent that the decision would bring “sorrow” for the many millions of American women who will be losing a “fundamental constitutional protection”.

The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years.

The decision by its conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states. The ruling came more than a month after the stunning leak of a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito indicating the court was prepared to take this momentous step.