After 49 years, the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, upending decades of precedent on abortion.

The Court on Fri. ruled 5–4 to overturn Roe v. Wade, with five of the Court's six conservatives voting to undo the ruling.

Justice Samuel Alito penned the majority opinion: "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start...[It] must be overruled."

Who voted to overturn Roe with Alito? (Politico) ▪Clarence Thomas ▪Neil Gorsuch ▪Brett Kavanaugh ▪Amy Coney Barrett

The Court's decision has sparked outrage: several legislators accused the justices of lying in their confirmation hearings.

As nominees, four of the Court's conservatives stressed a respect for Roe v. Wade as Supreme Court precedent.

During his confirmation hearing in 2006, Alito himself cited stare decisis with respect to his approach to Roe v. Wade.

What is stare decisis? Per Reuters, it's a "doctrine that calls for courts to stand by their own previous rulings."

Alito in 2006: "The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the decision...based on stare decisis."

Justice Neil Gorsuch, former Pres. Trump's first SCOTUS nominee, echoed Alito's respect for precedent in 2017.

Gorsuch: "A good judge will consider [Roe] as precedent...worthy as treatment of precedent like any other."

Brett Kavanagh stressed in 2018 during his hearing that the Court's ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey strengthened Roe.

During his hearing in 1991, Justice Clarence Thomas hedged on the question of abortion, stating that he had "no agenda."

Thomas: "I can say on that issue...I have no agenda. I have an open mind."

Amy Coney Barret told the Senate Judiciary in 2020 that she believed Roe was precedent, but not a "super precedent."

Per constitutional scholar Michael J. Gerhardt, a super precedent is a decision that is "deeply embedded" in the law. (CC)

Gorsuch was asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2017 about Roe's place as a super precedent. He said:

Chief Justice John Roberts voted against overturning Roe, but in 2005, he confirmed his views on it in this exchange: