Leak reveals US Supreme Court may scrap landmark abortion rights legislation
PROTESTS erupted across the United States after a leak indicated that Supreme Court justices may be about to ban the national right to abortion.
Their draft opinion says a majority of the country’s nine top judges voted to overturn a landmark ruling that guarantees access to terminations.
If Roe v Wade was to be revoked, millions of American women would overnight lose rights established almost half a century ago including those who suffered rape or incest.
In the 1973 case, the court ruled the right to abortion was protected by the Constitution and governments could not revoke it.
Trigger
If the leaked opinion is finalised, in around a month, abortion’s legality and the ability to access it would be decided by individual states.
Of the 50 states, 13 would move to ban abortions within weeks while another 13 have so-called “trigger laws” in place to prohibit terminations immediately if Roe v Wade is reversed.
The move is being viewed as a legacy of Donald Trump’s administration, during which hundreds of family planning clinics lost federal funding.
But the leak sent shockwaves through political circles in Washington DC. Democrats vowed to try to “codify” the right to abortion – meaning Supreme Court justices could not overthrow it.
President Joe Biden said: “I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental.”
Republicans demanded an inquiry, claiming the leak was done by pro-choice supporters to stir up a backlash against the court and make judges keep the ruling.
Chief Justice John Roberts Jr confirmed the document was genuine and promised an investigation into what he called an “egregious breach of trust”. He stressed a final decision had not been made. Nevertheless barricades were thrown up around the court building as hundreds of pro-choice protesters gathered, joined by a smaller number of anti-abortionists. Historically, the divisive issue has led to violent clashes between pressure groups and even murders linked to clinics involved.
The draft was written by Justice Samuel Alito, one of six appointed by Republican presidents. He wrote: “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Four other judges voted to overturn the law – three of them appointed by President Trump – as three worked on dissenting opinions.
It is not clear how Chief Justice Roberts, appointed by Republican George W Bush, plans to vote.
Following the leak, Mini Timmaraju, president of the NARAL Pro-Choice America pressure group, said: “We need to brace for a future where more and more people are punished and criminalised for seeking and providing abortion care.”