WNBA players union decries overturning of Roe v. Wade

The WNBA Players Association reacted to the United States Supreme Court's decision to overturn a woman's constitutional right to an abortion by focusing on voting rights and urging people to «vote like our lives depend on it. Because they do.»

In a statement, the WNBPA said, «This decision shows a branch of government that is so out of touch with the country and any sense of human dignity.»

«We must recognize that when we cast a ballot it is to elect officials and to connect the dots to policies and legislation that align with our values,» the WNBPA said.

The Supreme Court on Friday voted 5-4 to overturn Roe v. Wade, a decision that is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states. The ruling came more than a month after the leak of a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito indicating the court was prepared to take this momentous step, and was supported by the court's conservative majority.

Alito, who wrote the final opinion, wrote that the original 1972 decision on Roe and a 1992 decision reaffirming it (Planned Parenthood vs. Casey) were «wrong the days they were decided and must be overturned.»

Alito wrote that the authority to regulate abortion rests with the political branches of government and not the courts. The decision leaves it up to the states.

«We therefore hold that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Roe and Casey must be overruled, and the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives,» Alito wrote.

Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Clarence Thomas joined the majority. Chief Justice John Roberts voted to uphold a Mississippi law which banned abortion after 15 weeks and prompted the case to get to