San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement that, "This decision is devastating to women and our country. The ramifications from this Supreme Court ruling on public health, poverty, and so many downstream consequences have yet to be seen, but right now, women are scared about what this means for them, for their daughters, for all of us."
Breed said the city was taking steps to prepare for impacts from the ruling. San Francisco's Department of the Status of Women will be ready for an influx of people traveling from out-of-state.
Kimberly Ellis, director of the department, said, "We must have the same unbending and resolute commitment to undoing this new world of forced birth, even if it takes us another 40 years to get there. We will never give up."
The U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade ruled that the U.S. Constitution generally protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion. Friday's decision to overturn the 50-year ruling is expected to result in abortion bans in several states.
North Bay Congressman Mike Thompson said the court's decision was "an assault on women, plain and simple," in a statement on Friday morning.
In the East Bay, State Sen. Nancy Skinner said the court's decision was a "outrage" that has made the nation unsafe for millions.
