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The US Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision that established a constitutional right to abortion in the nation nearly 50 years ago.

"Roe was egregiously wrong from the start," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his majority opinion. "Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences."

Alito was joined by five other conservatives on the bench. The court's three liberal justices dissented.

The ruling came after the Supreme Court had considered an appeal case involving a Mississippi law banning all abortions over 15 weeks.