'Biggest rights restriction in 50 years': Dozens of US states may soon ban abortion

On the evening of May 3, Politico published a draft decision of the US Supreme Court in a case that will determine the fate of abortion in the country, reports Meduza.

Photo: Shutterstock

The Supreme Court has already confirmed to reporters that the document is genuine, although it "does not reflect the final position" of the judges on the matter. If the decision is indeed published in its current form by the end of June, dozens of states will be able to completely ban abortion by reversing the landmark decision half a century ago. And the very fact of publishing a draft threatens the Supreme Court as an institution.

Why is the decision itself and its leak to the press a major event in American politics?

One of the most famous cases in the history of the US Supreme Court, adopted during the sharp liberalization of the views of judges in the 1960s, went down in history as Roe v. Wade. A resident of Texas, speaking under the pseudonym Jane Roe, complained to her district attorney because of a state law banning abortion. In January 1973, the Supreme Court issued an extremely broad decision: referring to the right to privacy, it recognized abortion as a fundamental right of US citizens. At the same time, judges also recognized the right of the state to protect women and fetuses.

On the subject: Fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine: doctors recommend it, but scientists are skeptical

The Court came up with the concept of balancing these interests: during the first trimester of pregnancy, the right to abortion should not be limited, during the second trimester, states can impose reasonable restrictions, and during the last months, abortion is possible only if the life or health of the mother is threatened. These restrictions were clarified by the court in 1993 - since then, abortion has been allowed up to a period after which the fetus can survive.

The right to abortion has been a major domestic political issue in America for half a century. The decision in the case of Roe v. Wade was immediately called “judicial activism” by conservatives - in their opinion, the concept of the right to privacy was artificially derived by liberal judges from the wording of the 14th amendment to the Constitution on freedom of the individual.

Conservative judges and legislative assemblies of conservative states, together with religious activists, are trying, if not to abolish the right to abortion, then to complicate its application as much as possible or to reduce the number of clinics themselves that provide such a service. For example, Kentucky state law requires doctors to show women who want an abortion the fetal heartbeat, even if the patient objects. And opponents of abortion are constantly picketing abortion clinics, setting them on fire and even killing doctors.

These measures harm the most vulnerable women: the poor, underage, minorities; those who do not have the money to travel to another state where abortion is more available, or those who do not have access to information about contraception and abortion. Women's rights activists try to support such American women: they help them get to clinics or get the necessary medicines. But conservatives are also actively fighting them.

The toughest measure of such a fight was a law passed in Texas in the spring of 2021. It banned abortions from the moment a fetal heart beats (this occurs around the sixth week after conception), with no exceptions for victims of violence, incest, and adolescents - and allowed any American to sue the person who performs or provides access to such a procedure.

The Supreme Court in December 2021 refused to consider a complaint against this law - by that time, conservative judges had already received a majority in the votes. In September 2020, Judge Ruth Ginsburg died suddenly; having suffered from cancer for many years, she refused to step down during the administration of Barack Obama, who could appoint an ideologically close candidate to replace her. Ginzburg died in the last months of Donald Trump's rule, and the Republicans, with only a few months before losing the Senate elections, managed to install conservative judge Amy Coney-Barrett in her place, sharply shifting the court to the right.

Now, a complaint has reached the Supreme Court against a Mississippi law that prohibits abortion after the 15th week, even in cases of rape or incest. Hearings in the case took place on December 1 last year, and many observers noted that conservative judges, based on their questions to the parties, are inclined to approve the law - but the prospect of Roe v. Wade's total annulment has become a sensation.

What does the new decision say?

The leaked decision in the new case was written by Judge Samuel Alito, not Chief Justice John Roberts, who has increasingly joined the three liberal judges in recent years. Perhaps that is why the text turned out to be so radical.

The document—apparently the text of a draft decision written in February that Alito sent to colleagues to seek their consent—describes the Roe v. "destructive consequences". In the US Constitution, the judge writes, the right to abortion itself is not protected. He believes that legislators - and voters - in individual states have the right to decide what local rules should be, so a possible local ban on abortion, even in the case of rape, would be legitimate.

Politico writes that a source familiar with the reasoning of the judges confirmed that five conservatives still support such a decision.

The leak, which must have come from one of the judges or clerks, breaks a long tradition of keeping the court closed. Previously, only a few times draft decisions and internal correspondence leaked in the seventies - including during the discussion in the case of Roe v. Wade. Since then, there have been no such cases in the history of the US Supreme Court.

It is unlikely that the source's decision to release the document to journalists could have been caused by anything other than an attempt to influence the decision in the last weeks before publication, forcing the court to soften it due to criticism.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, 22 U.S. states will implement full or partial bans on abortion: nine of them retained pre-13s rules, and 14 passed special laws that would take effect when the ban is lifted. It is believed that the number of legal abortions will fall by at least XNUMX%, and many women who have lost access to clinics will be forced to terminate their pregnancies with dangerous "home" means.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

At the same time, a complete ban on abortion remains an unpopular measure in American society: only about 20% of Americans are in favor of it. A possible Supreme Court decision and the resulting Southern states' decisions could help Democrats avoid a disaster in November's congressional elections by "shaking up" their voters. The left wing of the party is now calling for the federal guarantee of the right to abortion to be accepted as law, not judicial precedent.

Democratic caucuses in both houses of Congress called Alito's text "the biggest restriction on rights in the last fifty years."

Read also on ForumDaily:

USCIS Automatically Renews Work Permits for Immigrants

An operation due to oncology and a spy successor: rumors about Putin's health haunt world journalists and intelligence officers

An American first became infected with a new type of bird flu: does it threaten an epidemic

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.