I'm Jordan Smith, a senior reporter for the Intercept.

Welcome to Descent, an Intercepted miniseries about the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court's first summer's dobs decision.

Overturning Roe vs Wade in nearly 50 years of abortion rights, dropped like a bomb.

It was the first time the U.S. Supreme Court had acted to take rights away from individuals.

At the Supreme Court today, an historic upheaval.

In a sweeping ruling that overturned a half a century of precedence, five justices ended

the right of American women to choose abortion under the Constitution.

50 years' worth of women's rights in America overturned in an instant as the Supreme

Court, whose very purpose is to protect civil liberties, took away the constitutional right

to abortion.

From anger and anguish to celebration and gratitude, the Supreme Court's decision to overturn

Roe vs Wade's shook national politics and sparked a national response that's playing out

in cities and states across the country.

As of today, abortion is illegal in eight states that had so-called trigger laws in place

for this very moment.

Five more states will ban abortion within weeks, and already today courts have blocked

bans from going into effect in several other states.

I wasn't surprised it happened.

I've covered reproductive rights for a long time, and there were plenty of us who had warned

about this moment for decades.

Over the last number of years, it was increasingly clear that rose days were numbered.

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