Abortion rights: Leaked documents seem to suggest US Supreme Court could overturn Wade v Roe | US News

A leaked document appears to show that a majority of US Supreme Court justices plan to support overturning the historic Roe v Wade case law that legalized abortion.

Politico claims to have seen the draft ‘opinion’ which, if correct, is, it says, a “full rejection” and “zero tolerance of the 1973 decision” to ensure constitutional protection legislation for the right to abortion.

The publication said the judicial opinion was written by Judge Samuel Alito and circulated inside the court.

It clearly states that “Roe was seriously wrong from the start.”

It is not clear at this stage whether the draft represents the final word of the court on the matter.

The Supreme Court There has yet to be a final verdict in the case, and opinions – and even the judges’ votes – have been known to change during the drafting process. The court is expected to rule on the case before the deadline expires in late June or early July.

The revelation was greeted with disappointment from abortion rights groups.

Planned Parenthood tweeted: “While abortion is still legal, tonight’s report makes clear our deepest fears are coming true.

“We’ve reached a crisis point in terms of access to abortion. We don’t have time to spare – we have to act now.”

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said if the decision were made, it would be a “direct attack on the dignity, rights and lives of women, not to mention decades of settlement discipline.

“It will kill and subdue women even if the vast majority of Americans think abortion is legal,” she continued.

“What a complete disgrace.”

In a joint statement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court stands ready to introduce the largest power restriction in fifty years. — not just for women, but for all Americans.

“The reported votes of the Republican-appointed Judges to overturn Roe v. Wade will be seen as an abomination, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history. .”

Senator and pro-democracy activist Bernie Sanders says people need to act “NOW” to “pass legislation Roe v Wade as the law of the land”.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren described the Supreme Court as “radical” and said it wanted to “impose its unpopular, far-right views on the entire country”.

Politico published what they said was labeled a “First Draft” of “Court Opinion” in a case Challenges Mississippi’s abortion ban after 15 weeksa case known as the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Foundation.

The Supreme Court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority. Justice Alito was appointed by former President George W Bush.

Heated debate

Politico said he signed a draft that reads: “Roe was seriously wrong from the start.

“We argue that Roe and Casey must be changed,” it added, referring to the 1992 Planned Parenthood v Casey case that asserted Roe found a constitutional right to abortion services – but allowed states to set impose some constraints on this activity.

The report’s leaks come amid legislative push to restrict abortion in several Republican-led states – most recently Oklahoma – even before the courts decide.

A Supreme Court spokesman said the court had no comment.

The leak started the intense political debate that the supreme court’s final decision is expected to have in the midterm election year.

Politicians on both sides have seized on it to raise funds and encourage their supporters on both sides of the contentious issue.

An AP-NORC poll in December found that Democrats increasingly make protecting abortion rights a top government priority.

Other polls show relatively few Americans want to see Roe overturned.

In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 69% of voters in the presidential election said the Supreme Court should uphold Roe Wade’s decision; only 29% said the court should overturn the decision.

Overall, the AP-NORC poll shows that the majority of the public supports abortion as legal in most or all cases.

However, when asked about abortion policy in general, Americans have different attitudes on this issue and many do not think that abortion should be done after the first trimester or that women can legally have an abortion because any reason.

Alito said the court cannot predict how the public might react and should not try. “We cannot allow our decisions to be influenced by any externalities such as concerns about the public’s reaction to our work,” Alito wrote in the draft opinion, according to the statement. Politico.

So far, courts have allowed states to regulate, but not ban, abortions before it’s feasible, about 24 weeks.
The court’s three liberal judges appear to be at odds.