Roe v Wade is overturned in landmark Supreme Court decision with cops braced for abortion rights protests across US | The Sun
THE Supreme Court has overturned the landmark ruling Roe V Wade, eliminating nearly 50 years of constitutional protections for abortion.
The 5-4 decision will leave the issues of abortion up to state legislators, which will ultimately result in a total ban on the procedure in about half of the states.
The states that may implement total or near-total abortion restrictions include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Associate Justice Samuel Alito was joined in his opinion by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Democrat-appointed Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote.
It comes after last month's shocking leaked draft opinion that suggested the Supreme Court was poised to strike down the abortion legislation, according to Politico.
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Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. confirmed the document was authentic and immediately launched an investigation to find the source of the breach.
The majority draft opinion, reportedly written by Justice Samuel Alito and obtained by Politico, rejects the 1973 decision guaranteeing constitutional protection of abortion rights.
Alito wrote: "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences."
"And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”
The document stated: "Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each state from regulating or prohibiting abortion."
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ROE V. WADE
Before it landed in front of the Supreme Court, the historic case stemmed from a 1969 lawsuit filed by an unmarried, pregnant woman.
The woman, who wanted to terminate her pregnancy, sued a Texas district attorney in an effort to challenge an abortion ban in the state, which only allowed for an abortion if the woman’s life was at risk.
The case worked its way through the courts and finally reached the highest court.
In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled against the Texas law, issuing a majority decision that prevented all US states from enacting abortion laws that infringed on a mother’s ability to terminate her pregnancy in the first trimester.
As a result of the ruling, abortion bans already on the books were rendered null and void.
Moving forward, states “could only enact abortion regulations reasonably related to maternal health in the second and third trimesters, and could enact abortion laws protecting the life of the fetus only in the third trimester,” according to PBS.
The Supreme Court's decision changed the national landscape for abortion access by unilaterally voiding state bans.
But in the nearly 50 years since, subsequent court rulings and dozens of new laws have chipped away at abortion rights.
Recent laws have brought the issue of abortion back to the nation’s highest court.
A Mississippi law enacted in 2018 made it illegal for a woman to obtain an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The state’s sole medical clinic that provides abortions filed a lawsuit against the legislation.
That case — Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health — landed in front of the Supreme Court in December 2021.
PROTESTS ON CAPITOL HILL
Following the leak, hundreds of activists took to the streets of Washington DC within minutes of the news, where screaming crowds formed outside the court building.
Steel fencings were set up outside the court perimeter by law enforcement as a precaution, as well as barricades to keep anti and pro-abortion activists separated.
The leaking of the document itself is unprecedented, given the secrecy of the Supreme Court.
“To the extent, this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way,” Roberts said in a written statement.
“This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.”
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell called for the leaker’s prosecution.
“Somebody, likely somebody inside the court itself, leaked a confidential brief to the press, to stir up a pressure campaign,” he said.
“Whoever committed this lawless act knew exactly what it could bring about."
More to follow…For the latest news on this story keep checking back at Sun Online.
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