In a ruling by its conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court eliminated constitutional safeguards for abortion that had been in effect for over 50 years. The results of Friday are anticipated to result in abortion restrictions in around half of the states.
The ruling, which was unfathomable only a few years ago, was the result of decades of work by abortion opponents and was made feasible by the court’s right flank, which has grown more assertive thanks to the addition of three Trump nominees.
More than a month had passed since the shocking disclosure of a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, which showed the court was ready to make this historic decision.
In his final conclusion, Alito argued that the 1992 rulings Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld the right to an abortion, were incorrect when they were made and must be reversed.
“In our opinion, Roe and Casey must be rejected. Abortion is not mentioned in the Constitution, and no fundamental clause implicitly protects this freedom, according to Alito.
According to Alito, the political branches, not the courts, have the power to control abortion.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett joined Alito in the bench. Trump appointed the final three justices. Thomas cast the first anti-Roe vote thirty years ago.
The Mississippi legislation at the center of the case, which forbids abortion after 15 weeks, would have been maintained by Chief Justice John Roberts, who would have refrained from outright banning the practice.
The court’s dwindling liberal majority, represented by Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, dissented.
They stated in their letter, “We dissent with sorrow—for this Court, but more so for the countless millions of American women who have now lost a basic constitutional safeguard.
According to figures examined by The Associated Press, the decision is anticipated to have a disproportionately negative impact on minority women who already have restricted access to healthcare.
If Roe is repealed, there are currently laws against abortion in place in thirteen states, mostly in the South and Midwest. After six weeks of pregnancy, when many women are unaware that they are pregnant, another half-dozen states have near-total restrictions or prohibitions.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that promotes abortion rights, the debate will be over dormant abortion laws that were passed before Roe was ruled in 1973 or fresh measures to significantly limit when abortions may be done.
According to data provided by Guttmacher, more than 90% of abortions occur in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, and more than half are now performed without surgery using tablets.
The choice was made in light of public opinion polls showing that the majority of Americans reject repealing Roe and leaving the option to allow abortion totally up to the states. About 1 in 10 Americans, according to surveys by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and others, want abortion to be prohibited in all circumstances. Most people support abortion being allowed in all or most situations, according to surveys, although many also support limitations, particularly later in pregnancy.
The Biden administration and other pro-choice advocates have cautioned that a ruling reversing Roe would also jeopardize rulings by the Supreme Court in favor of homosexual rights and, maybe, contraception.
