The United States Supreme Court has overruled the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed Americans' constitutional right to an abortion. With Roe gone, abortion clinics are left worrying on about if they must close outright, but they also are on edge after a year of violence against them.

Prior to the ruling, the National Abortion Federation (NAF) released a report that found assaults against clinics and patients rose by 128% last year on top of an 80% increase in bomb threats and a 129% increase in "invasions" where anti-abortion protestors forcefully entered their property.

Melissa Fowler, NAF's Chief Program Officer, called the results of her organization's research "concerning, but sadly unsurprising." After the leak of a Supreme Court draft decision that would see Roe v. Wade overturned, Fowler claims attacks against abortion clinics and staff shot up, something expected to only worsen now that the decision has been delivered.

“Let’s be clear—many of the people who perpetrate these attacks against abortion providers are members of known extremist and white supremacist organizations, and are the same people who stormed the Capitol on January 6th to try and overthrow the government," Fowler said in a statement.

Though Fowler did not offer evidence to support her assertion, others have noted the increased attention paid to anti-abortion activities by far-right extremists. In a report by the Anti-Defamation League in May, researchers said that extremists increased their threats to commit violence at abortion providers as well as women who support abortion rights in particular.

On Friday, the Supreme Court delivered a 6-3 decision where the court's conservative justices joined together to overturn Roe v. Wade. In a majority opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito ruled that Roe wrongly interpreted the Constitution to establish abortion as a right, something he said was better left to the "people's representatives."

The three liberal justices -- Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer -- joined in a dissent where they accused the majority of abandoning the precedents of balancing a woman's interest in her own health and the state's interest in protecting "potential life."

The White House and state Attorney Generals huddled on Thursday to discuss ways to ensure women can get access to an abortion if the highest court overruled Roe. Meanwhile, blue states like California and New Jersey moved to expand protections for abortion rights in their backyards.

President Joe Biden and the White House have not yet issued a statement at this time on the ruling.

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