Supreme Court's striking down of abortion rights takes America 'back 150 years' - Biden

The supreme court has overturned Roe v Wade, ending nearly a half-century of abortion rights in the US

An abortion-rights activist wears tape reading "second class citizen" on their mouth as they protest outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday. Picture: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Joe Biden has said that the US Supreme Court has, in overturning Roe v Wade, taken away a fundamental constitutional right of the American people and take the country back "150 years".

Speaking from the White House, the President said the court's ruling was the result of a decades-long "deliberate effort" by anti-abortion lobbyists and politicians, and that the day's events were the realisation of "an extreme ideology."