Roe v. Wade refers to the famous lawsuit which led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy in 1973. Jane Roe, a.k.a. Nora McCorvey, was in a poor position — unemployed, single, and pregnant for a third time. This led to her appealing in court against Texas’ restrictions on abortions, on account that the laws did not take a woman’s personal privacy into consideration. Justice Harry Blackmum would then find the ruling in her favor, with the jury recognising that the Constitution acknowledges a woman’s right to end her pregnancy. The final ruling was delivered by justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony M. Kennedy, and David H. Souter, who stated that a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy was “a rule of law and component of liberty we cannot renounce.”
However, after standing for nearly 50 years, the ruling made in Roe v. Wade is in danger of being overturned. On December 1, 2021, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, another case regarding the reproductive rights of women, was brought before the Supreme Court. This case seeks to challenge the constitutionality of a Mississippi state law that bans abortion operations after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. Should the Supreme Court take the side of the state law in this case, it would completely undermine Roe v. Wade — and from what has been seen in a recently leaked document, that is exactly what the Supreme Court intends to do. Assuming this leaked document is real, this decision will have significant implications for the bodily autonomy of women all across the United States. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion would not become illegal, but states would be able to exert more control over their individual restrictions on abortion. Thirteen states have already proclaimed their intentions to support the near-outright banning of abortions through so-called “trigger laws,” which are laws that come into effect only when certain conditions are met.These states are Arkansas, Kentucky, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court, the ban on abortion would come into effect 30 days afterwards for the states of Texas and Tennessee. The states of Arkansas and Idaho also have trigger laws in place that would make abortions punishable by up to 5 and 10 years of imprisonment, respectively. Kentucky has already passed a bill as of 2019 which classifies abortions outside of a live-saving procedure as felonies; to take things further, the state of Wyoming plans to completely ban abortions should Roe. v Wade be overturned by the Supreme Court.
The leaking of this information has sent ripples of unease through the American people, even those would support the overturning of Roe. v Wade. Justices of the Supreme Court are, by virtue of their position, supposed to hold a neutral standing in all cases and to ensure proper justice is dealt out. However, Justice Samuel Alito was quite clear on his stance with Roe v. Wade; many political figures find his blatant distaste and dismissal of the law to be a sign that the once-impartial Supreme Court has fallen to political hearsay. American citizens now worry about their future should the law be overturned, as it would prove that even one of their strongest justice institutions is not impervious to political influence.
The Court will meet again privately on May 12th, 2022, after which a decision may be made on May 16th (or postponed). With two remaining months and thirty-seven decisions left to be made, it is indeed a nerve-racking time for the American people.
Sources:
Published May 13, 2022
Written by Karena Dindial ~ Edited by Alex Truong ~ Graphics created by Fiona Xu
Comments