South Wales Echo

COURT IN TRUMP’S TRAP

As Supreme Court filled with his right-wing picks torch abortion rights, it’s obvious Trump will shape America’s future whether he’s the president or not

- US Editor

the past six years, America has had many dismal days.

But following the overturnin­g by the US Supreme Court of the landmark case that legalised abortion in the country, these have been among the nation’s darkest.

The decision by the Republican­stacked nine-judge panel robs millions of women of reproducti­ve rights that had been establishe­d for nearly a half-century. They include victims of rape and incest.

The decision mirrored a draft opinion leaked last month showing the court was set to overturn the Roe v Wade ruling, which gave women a right to abortion, and the 1992 case of Planned Parenthood vs Casey, which reaffirmed it.

It is the most consequent­ial Supreme Court decision in decades and will transform women’s reproducti­ve health in America. In the future, abortion rights will be determined by individual states, unless Congress acts.

Of the 50 states, 26 are now set to ban abortion.

Eighteen states already have restrictiv­e abortion laws in place.

In the 5 - 4 majority opinion ruling, Justice Samuel Alito wrote: “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, including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely — the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

“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. It is time to heed the Constituti­on and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representa­tives.”

Democrats condemned the ruling, while Republican­s celebrated the move – none more so than Donald Trump, who took credit for the decision.

He said it and other recent court decisions “were only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constituti­onalists conOVER firmed to the United States Supreme Court... It was my great honour to do so,” he bragged.

Trump will go down in history as the president who put the judicial pieces in place to overturn Roe, packing the Supreme Court with anti-abortionis­t justices.

People should not forget that before running for the White House, Trump once said: “I hate the concept of abortion. I cringe when I listen to people debating the subject, but I still believe in choice.”

He changed his stance for one thing – personal power. Under his watch, the Supreme Court made it easier to own a gun, gave cops the ability to not read people their rights, and overturned Roe v Wade after 50 years of precedent.

Trump’s true legacy? A country where a woman could be forced by a pro-life government to give birth to a child that will then be in danger of being killed in a school shooting because they are also pro-guns.

History should not be kind to America’s most hateful president.

 ?? Coming years ?? There are fears Trump’s justices will help overturn further rights in the
Coming years There are fears Trump’s justices will help overturn further rights in the
 ?? Left ?? Protesters took to the streets after the decision by the Supreme Court,
Left Protesters took to the streets after the decision by the Supreme Court,

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