According to a leaked written judgment from the United States Supreme Court, the court is set to reverse Roe vs Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established abortion as a constitutional right.
What Is Roe vs Wade Case?
Norma McCorvey, a Texas mother of two, got pregnant with her third child in 1970. McCorvey wanted an abortion, but the state’s rules prevented her from getting one unless the mother’s life was in jeopardy, so she filed a lawsuit. To safeguard her identity, she was given the alias ‘Jane Roe,’ although she later went public. The case was also named after Henry Wade, the attorney general of the opposite side.
As a result, the case was formed.
The court declared on January 22, 1973, by a 7-2 majority that the constitutional right to privacy applied to abortion.
They claimed that while the United States Constitution did not specifically address abortion, the right to privacy was implicit and that this should apply to a person’s reproductive choices.
Abortion is a common and safe medical treatment that one in every four American women undergoes. As per a poll taken in 2021, 80% of Americans approve of abortion in all or most situations, and at least 60% support Roe v Wade.
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Views On The Reversal
The major goal of the Constitution is to defend fundamental rights and liberties. People with extreme perceptions of both simply have fundamental views about what those liberties and rights are. What is the Supreme Court meant to do if this happens?
It’s impossible to assess Roe’s humanitarian implications objectively. It rests on your perspective on those basic rights and liberties. If you assume that a fetus gains human rights before birth, the ramifications are unfathomable. If you think, as Roe does, that no such rights exist, then the great advances for women in terms of education, health, and economic security are meaningless.
The US Supreme Court would be out of sync with public opinion if it overturned Roe vs Wade.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion will be left to the states to regulate. Approximately half of the states are expected to prohibit abortion immediately; 16 states, including the District of Columbia, have laws designed to protect abortion rights.
Firstly, Roe was a massive blunder, not only in terms of law but also in terms of ripping the fabric of American democracy. Secondly, repealing this terrible statute after 50 years risks exacerbating the problem. Roe’s constitutional flaws are widely acknowledged by legal experts. Even pro-choice lawyers believe that women have the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.
Overruling Roe would exacerbate the nation’s already deadly division. Abortion-rights critics would be dissatisfied: If the fetal-viability criterion is repealed, and states may prohibit abortion (with limited exceptions) beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy, lawmakers will soon pass laws prohibiting abortion after 12 weeks, or even six weeks. Abortion rights activists would be furious. The issue would return because the court had taken sides in a political battle.
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Against The Reversal
This draft leak has started a brawl between liberals and conservatives.
As there is no federal statute protecting the right to abortion in the United States, overturning Roe would leave abortion legislation in the hands of individual states. Conservative states may reintroduce stringent abortion laws that were in place before the Supreme Court established the fetal viability criterion in 1973.
The New York Times predicted that lawmakers in 22 states will “almost surely” act to prohibit or severely restrict abortion access, with poorer women taking the burden of the consequences in most cases. As per the New York Times, without Roe’s protection, the number of legal abortions in the United States might drop by at least 14%, citing research based on the effects of abortion facility closures in Texas between 2013 and 2016.
Activists and progressive lawmakers have stated that access to clinics, as well as insurance payouts, are significant issues that many women face, even with Roe’s support. If this legal protection is removed, access may become even more difficult.
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