The Issue Is: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

This week, a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The majority voting to overturn Roe v Wade, returning decisions about abortion access to the states - creating a patchwork of individual policies in which some half of states will ban or limit most abortions. Other states, like California, look to become so-called sanctuaries for the treatment.

On this historic week, The Issue Is welcomes a host of voices from across the abortion debate.

First, Elex Michaelson speaks with California Attorney General Rob Bonta about California’s planned response to the SCOTUS decision.

Then, Planned Parenthood California CEO Jodi Hicks and Jonathan Keller, President of the California Family Council, offer their reaction to the ruling, as well as their plans for continuing the decades-long fight.

Finally, the return of our all-star panel, with attorney and activist Areva Martin and political consultant Brian Goldsmith offering their expert analysis of the historic ruling.

THE ISSUE IS: PLANNED PARENTHOOD CA CEO JODI HICKS REACTS TO THE SCOTUS DECISION

HICK’S CENTRAL TAKE: "I mean, obviously, we're devastated. I think we've been working towards knowing that this day would come since September. Having said that, I think it's impossible to prepare for the day when the highest court takes away a fundamental right that generations have enjoyed for more than 50 years - it's an impossible time to prepare for. So it still comes very much as a gut punch, and, you know, it's a sad day for for anyone that... really for humanity…"

THE ISSUE IS: CALIFORNIA FAMILY COUNCIL PRESIDENT JONATHAN KELLER REACTS TO THE SCOTUS DECISION

KELLER’S CENTRAL TAKE: "It's kind of surreal, to be honest. I started my involvement with the pro-life community, the pro-life issue as a high school student. I was 14 years old. I was a freshman, and I had some friends that invited me to go and pray outside of an abortion clinic... I had been raised in a Christian household, I kind of, sort of, knew what abortion was, but it was really that involvement with some of my peers, other high schoolers, college students that really kind of ignited a passion for me about this issue and the need to provide hope and support to women and to girls. And it was something that kind of took over my life. I ended up going to school, a Christian school, ended up starting working with a pro-life organization where I've now been in this work professionally for almost 20 years... I, in some ways, I don't know that I ever thought we were actually going to get to this day, I mean, you always work for it and you believe that it's possible, but it's almost, I'm still kind of in shock that it's actually here…"

THE ISSUE IS: AREVA MARTIN AND BRIAN GOLDSMITH REACT TO THE SCOTUS DECISION

MARTIN’S CENTRAL TAKE: "I'm really, like so many women around this country, in some ways speechless... We knew it was coming, so I can't say I'm surprised by it. Because of the leaked Alito opinion, we knew what the Supreme Court was going to do, but to eviscerate 50 years of women's right to control their reproductive health with the stroke of a pen is really pretty amazing. To have those six jurists, justices make that decision, even though the majority of the country favors women's rights to abortions, women's rights to make their own choices - our bodies, our choices - it's really quite stunning. And to have it be six Republicans - we know this has been a plan - this is not something that happened overnight, this has been a very concerted and methodical plan to get us to this day. And we are here…"

GOLDSMITH’S CENTRAL TAKE: "This is a very sad day because this is not the end of abortion, this is the end of safe and legal abortion for so many women, particularly in the 13 states with trigger laws, which means that starting today, abortion will be outlawed in nine of those states, and in a few weeks in the other four, and then 26 states NARAL estimates are going to restrict abortion either entirely or mostly. This is a new radicalism in the country, overturning 50 years of precedent…"

THE ISSUE IS: CA AG BONTA ON STEPS CALIFORNIA WILL TAKE TO PROTECT REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

AG BONTA’S CENTRAL TAKE: "California will continue to be a place where those who seek reproductive health care can receive it, and I'll do everything in my power as the chief law enforcement officer of the state of California to ensure that continues to be true…"

THE ISSUE IS: KELLER ON CA’S PROPOSAL TO PAY FOR OUT-OF-STATE WOMEN SEEKING ABORTIONS TO COME TO CALIFORNIA

KELLER’S CENTRAL TAKE: "That is absolutely one of the worst proposals, I think, that California has introduced this entire year, because not only are we talking about trying to incentivize women or provide opportunities for women to have abortions here in the state of California, but in a very real way, we are recruiting women from around the country to come here and have abortions. In fact, Gavin Newsom's Future of Abortion Council proposed that if that type of policy goes into effect, we could see abortion rates from out-of-state patients increase not by hundreds of percent, but even by thousands of percent here in California. So, I think what I would love to see, we do have a historic budget surplus here in the state of California, I would love to see us use that, use our world class medical facilities, the huge amount of money we have, to actually meet the needs of women and families - we could do so much more in terms of leading the nation, in providing prenatal care, in terms of providing reduced or subsidized labor and delivery, providing ways for families to afford to adopt children if it's through the foster care system or things like that. I think that there are a lot of opportunities that California can have in leading the nation, I just don't think that we should be leading the nation in turning us into a taxpayer-funded abortion sanctuary…"

THE ISSUE IS: MARTIN AND GOLDSMITH ON THE POTENTIAL POLITICAL FALLOUT OF THE OVERTURNING OF ROE V WADE

GOLDSMITH’S CENTRAL TAKE: "The question to me is, does it overturn all of the existing forces that were pushing toward a big Republican victory in November, the economy, gas and groceries, dissatisfaction with the president? And does this and the gun issue overtake those, sort of in the way that 9/11, 20 years, ago overtook dissatisfaction with George W Bush to give his party an unprecedented victory in the midterms? That's the kind of push that the Democrats would need…. This is a test for the mainstream majority of the country, the two-thirds of the country that says that they don't want Roe v Wade overturned. Is this THE voting issue for them or is this just something they complain about?…"

MARTIN’S CENTRAL TAKE: "This is going to be that thing which catalyzes and galvanizes low propensity voters, young people, people of color, progressives - I think we're going to see them voting in the midterm elections in ways that we haven't seen in many, many years... I think we're going to see young women in particular, and not just Democratic women, because this isn't Democrats, Independents, or Republicans, there are young Republican women who will find themselves in situations where they will need an abortion, where they will want to have an abortion, so I think we're going to see coalition building around this issue. We're going to have a huge voter turnout…."

The Issue Is: with Elex Michaelson is California's only statewide political show. For showtimes and more information, go to TheIssueIsShow.com.