The Supreme Court of the United States is preparing the ruling that would eliminate the right to abortion in that country. The novelty was made public by the leaking of the draft of a majority opinion in court that would erase almost 50 years of constitutional protections.
The 98 page draft, obtained by website Politico, was written by Judge Samuel Alito and was distributed within the court dominated by conservatives, reported that medium. The Court’s decision to limit the right to abortion was known, with the incorporations made by Donald Trump there is a large Republican majority (6 to 3) in the Court, but the radical nature of the ruling that is being prepared was surprising.
The text cites the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision enshrining the right to abortion as “appallingly wrong from the start.”
“We hold that Roe and Casey should be set aside,” Alito writes in the document, labeled “Opinion of the court.” “It’s time to heed the Constitution and return the abortion issue to the elected representatives of the people.”
In Roe v. Wade, the country’s Supreme Court held that access to abortion is a woman’s constitutional right.
In a 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court guaranteed a woman’s right to abort until the fetus is viable outside the womb, which usually occurs between 22 and 24 weeks’ gestation.
Reproductive rights have come under increasing threat in the United States in recent months, as states have moved to tighten restrictions.
Right-wing politicians launch attack after attack on abortion, while Democrats, led by President Joe Biden, fight to keep open the right of women to decide on their own bodies.
In December, hearing oral arguments on a Mississippi law that could ban most abortions after 15 weeks, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed inclined not only to uphold the state rule, but to overturn the decision to Roe vs. Wade.
The draft is “not final”
This conservative-dominated, nine-member body is expected to issue a decision in the Mississippi case by June.
Politico he stressed that the document he obtained is a draft and that opinions could change until then.
The leak of the text when a case is still being decided is unprecedented in the history of the United States Supreme Court.
The Guttmacher Institute, a research group that defends the right to abortionhas said it is “certain or likely” that 26 states will ban the abortion if the Roe v. Wade decision is overturned.
States that choose could continue to legally allow the abortion even if the court throws out Roe v. Wade.
Planned Parenthood, which operates outpatient clinics abortion across the country, called the draft opinion “outrageous,” but cautioned that it is “not final.”
The Democrats’ reaction
Democrats were quick to condemn the leaked ruling. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that overturning Roe v Wade would be “abhorrent, one of the pores and most damaging decisions in modern history.”
“If the report is true, the Supreme Court is preparing to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the last fifty years, not only on women but on all Americans,” they said.
Christie Roberts, the executive director of the Democratic Senate campaign, assured that “if the draft is true, the issue of the Republican attack on access to abortion and birth control by women will become a central issue in the elections. this year.” “At this critical time, we must expand the Democratic majority in the Senate, which has the power to confirm or reject Supreme Court justices.”
“I am horrified by the apparent draft that was leaked tonight… this should not be the final opinion of the Supreme Court when it comes to abortion rights,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said. She later added on Twitter: “I refuse to allow my new granddaughter to have to fight for the rights that generations of women have fought for and won.”
Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted that the news showed “Congress must pass legislation codifying Roe vs. Wade as the law of the land in this country NOW.”
For their part, the Republicans were elated and thanked Donald Trump for his conservative appointments to the Court.
All polls show that Americans who want to see the right to abortion revoked are in the minority. In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 69% of voters in presidential elections thought the Supreme Court should leave the Roe v Wade decision as is; and that only 29% thought the court should reverse the decision.
In his draft, Judge Alito says the court cannot predict how the public might react and should not try. “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by external influences, such as concerns about the public’s reaction to our work,” he states in the leaked draft.