Leaked SCOTUS Draft That Strikes Down Roe Vs Wade Revives Right To Abortion Debate In The US
One of the most progressive laws that the US had guaranteed its women for near a half-century, was the right to abortion. The law allowed each state to decide whether they wanted to restrict or ban abortion. However, a leaked draft opinion from February indicates that the US Supreme Court has allegedly voted to strike down the Roe v. Wade verdict – the same verdict that guaranteed the right to abortion to women. Needless to say, if this draft turns out to be true then it will receive quite the backlash from people.
The New York Times cited a leaked draft opinion from February, that was published online on Monday by a US-based media publication – Politico. The leaked draft opinion written by Justice Samuel A Alito Jr, states that the majority of the court has voted to overturn the verdict in the Roe v. Wade case.
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Furthermore, the reports suggested that Justice Alito stated that it had wrongly been decided and that the topic of abortion that has caused many political debates for almost a generation should be not be decided by courts but rather the politicians.
In the leaked draft, Justice Alito in the document labelled as the “Opinion of the Court” allegedly wrote, “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.“ In the Casey v. planned parenthood case, the SC has further affirmed the Roe v. Wade verdict and prohibited the states from banning abortions across the country.
As per reports, the leaked draft reads, “The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.
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In simple terms, this ruling would mean the end of federal constitutional protection of abortion rights and will permit the states to come up with their own laws regarding it. However, the court’s holding will be final when it is published which should be in the next two months. Also, there is no clear way of knowing whether or not changes have been made to this draft that was created in February.
Needless to say, the new ruling on abortion will have quite the impact on American politics, especially in the coming months when the congressional midterms elections will be held and the decision will be made as to who will be in power on Capitol Hill.
In fact, many Republican-led state legislatures are thinking about imposing restrictions on women’s access to abortion and this decision by the court (keeping in mind the draft) is sure to start political battles as abortion has been a contentious issue for both the parties for a very long time now.
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