What Is The Roe V. Wade Decision That The Us Supreme Court Intends To Repeal, And Why Is It Significant?
A leaked internal decision of the Supreme Court has stunned the American citizens. On May 3, 2022, Politico published a report stating that an internal majority at the United States Supreme Court has decided to repeal the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The court’s significant judgement in the 1973 case had made abortion a constitutional right. Furthermore, such a leak from the Supreme Court is quite surprising and uncommon. Politico obtained access to the leaked draft, which was written by Justice Samuel Alito and accepted by four other conservative justices.
A brief on the Roe v. Wade Judgement 1973
The Roe v. Wade judgement 1973 of the Supreme Court passed a historic decision which made abortion legal in the United States. It ruled that a pregnant woman has the constitutional right to have an abortion if she chooses to with no excessive Government restrictions over it. A 22-year-old plaintiff, simply referred to as ‘Roe’ annulled the laws that made abortion illegal in many states of America. Henry Wade, referred to as ‘Wade’ was the defendant and the district attorney for Texas at that time.
Roe’s judgement ruled that abortion would be legally allowed up to the time of foetal viability, or the point at which a foetus can survive outside the womb. According to Politico’s report, the draft states that Roe’s judgement was “egregiously wrong from the start”, and should be overruled.
Reactions by US politicians on twitter-
Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights.
An extreme wing of the Supreme Court may seek to deny that fundamental truth.
They may try to force their views on a country where 70% of people want Roe upheld.
We will not be quiet and we will not go back.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 3, 2022
Here’s my statement with Michelle on the draft Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. pic.twitter.com/xBJJkLYGlQ
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 3, 2022
Why is this leaked report significant?
Even though the decision is not yet confirmed, the conservative majority of the Supreme court in support to repeal the empowering abortion laws has raised major concerns in the US. If the court confirms the decision leaked in the first draft, then very likely half of the US states will ban abortions. The overruling of the Roe judgment will give individual power to states on whether to ban abortion laws or not. It is very likely of the conservative states to bring back the stringent abortion laws that existed before the 1973 judgment. This decision will severely affect American women especially those who are poor.
Also Read: Roevwade Trends On Twitter As Many Talk About The Dangers Of Banning Abortions
In India, The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 legalises abortion up till 20 weeks. The 2021 amendment, raised it to 24 weeks but only for special groups of pregnant women, such as rape or incest victims.
