Roe v. Wade, the landmark US Supreme Court ruling from 1973 that legalised abortion in all states, is set to be overturned according to a leaked draft document written by Justice Samuel Alito concerning Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This would allow individual states to restrict or ban abortion.
According to a report by Politico, the document, dated 10th February, states that “the Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision”.
Roe v. Wade saw the Court rule that the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution bestowed upon women a “right to privacy” that “encompassed a woman’s decision whether to terminate her pregnancy” within the first trimester. Abortion was to be regulated by the government in the second trimester and permitted in order to protect the mother’s health. A state could prohibit abortion in the third trimester to protect a foetus that would be capable of surviving outside the womb, with the exception of when a woman’s health was at risk.
The ruling subsequently struck down many state laws that imposed restrictions on a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy, such as Texas’ abortion statutes that only permitted abortion where the procedure was necessary to save the life of the mother.
The right was not, however, absolute, and the scope of Roe v. Wade has been narrowed since 1973 following a string of challenges. Despite this, the news that the Supreme Court is planning to overturn the ruling was not expected, though the Court’s current 6-3 conservative majority makes such a decision more likely.
US President Joe Biden said:
“I believe that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental. Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and stability of our law demand that it should not be overturned.
[We are] preparing options for an Administration response to the continued attack on abortion and reproductive rights… We will be ready when any ruling is issued.
If the Court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose… At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”
According to the Guttmacher Institute, Roe being overturned would see abortion disappear in 22 states. Protesters from both sides of the debate have been gathering outside the Supreme Court in light of the news.
