US President Joe Biden has warned that “the health and life of women in this nation are now at risk”, as he condemned the Supreme Court’s “extreme” and “dangerous” decision to overturn the right to an abortion.

Mr Biden described the move as “the realisation of an extreme ideology” and a “tragic error”, one which was “literally taking America back 150 years” and would see women “punished for protecting their health”.

The president spoke from the White House after the conservative-leaning court scrapped the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that legalised abortion across the US.

‘One of America’s darkest days’ – live reaction and analysis as Roe v Wade overturned

The “cruel” court decision today is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half of US states, but Mr Biden warned: “This is not over” – as he called on people to vote for candidates who are pro-choice in November’s midterm elections.

But he urged demonstrators to “keep all protests peaceful”.

Right to abortion overturned by US Supreme Court after nearly 50 years in Roe v Wade ruling

Roe v Wade: What happens now the Supreme Court has overruled the constitutional right to an abortion?

Roe v Wade overturned live: Obama and Trump react; Disney to help pay for abortions; Texas politician sends staff home to celebrate

“This landmark case protected a woman’s right to choose, her right to make intensely personal decisions with her doctor, free from the interference of politics,” he said.

“It reaffirmed basic principles of equality, that women have the power to control their own destiny, and it reinforced a fundamental right of privacy – a right of each of us to choose how to live our lives.

“Now, with Roe gone, let’s be very clear: the health and life of women in this nation are now at risk.”

In a moment where he appeared to break from his script during his White House address, Mr Biden looked down and uttered: “It just stuns me.”

Pro-life campaigners outside the court in Washington DC cheered in celebration as the decision was announced allowing individual states to make their own abortion laws, while there were tears and heartache for those who want women to have the right to choose.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Earlier, senior figures from both sides of America’s political divide reacted to the court’s move.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said the ruling was “outrageous and heart-wrenching” and fulfils the Republican Party’s “dark and extreme goal of ripping away women’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions”.

But House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, told reporters that he applauds the court decision.

“A lot of lives are going to be saved,” Mr McCarthy told reporters. “But it also goes back to people in the states to have a say in the process.”

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said: “This is an historic victory for the Constitution and for the most vulnerable in our society.” (The decision is) “courageous and correct.”

Former Republican president Donald Trump also praised the Supreme Court’s decision.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News, he said the ruling “will work out for everybody”.

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

When asked whether he feels he played a role in the reversal of Roe v Wade, after having appointed three conservative justices to the top court, he replied: “God made the decision.”

His former vice president Mike Pence hailed a “new beginning for life”.

He wrote on Twitter: “Today, Life Won. By overturning Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court of the United States has given the American people a new beginning for life, and I commend the justices in the majority for having the courage of their convictions.

“Having been given this second chance for Life, we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the centre of American law in every state in the land.”

Read more:
Roe v Wade: How did we get here?
What happens now – and why Supreme Court may not stop at abortion rights

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

But former Democrat president Barack Obama said the “essential freedoms” of millions of Americans were being “attacked”.

He wrote: “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.”

And the head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “I am very disappointed, because women’s rights must be protected. And I would have expected America to protect such rights.”

Related posts:

Carlos Ghosn escape: Special forces veteran and son admit role in Japan flight For a showman like Richard Branson his space voyage is more than a publicity stunt Two ‘high profile’ ISIS-K fighters killed and third wounded in Afghanistan airstrike, Pentagon confirms Mother punches mountain lion to save son, five, from savage attack NASA delays launch of new James Webb Space Telescope after ‘incident’ More than £1.1m raised for American man jailed for 43 years for murders he didn’t commit Legendary Golden Girls actress Betty White dies shortly before milestone birthday Cadaver dogs to search through snow and hot debris after wildfire destroys nearly 1,000 homes in Colorado ‘She saved my life’ – Hockey fan who spotted staffer’s cancerous mole given medical school scholarship ‘I-65 killer’ identified more than 30 years after murder of three motel clerks Escaped murder suspect and prison officer in custody after police chase Manhunt under way for convicted murderer who escaped prison bus after driver stabbed