Roe v. Wade

2022 - 5 - 3

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Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Roe v Wade: The US Supreme Court's draft ruling on the future of ... (ABC News)

A leaked bombshell document suggests the US Supreme Court could soon vote to overturn a landmark ruling that grants Americans the constitutional right to an ...

It's important to note that the document is a draft that reflects only the opinion of Justice Alito. The case is challenging a law that was passed in the US state of Mississippi in 2018, banning abortion after 15 weeks. "It is time to heed the constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives." California, for example, is a politically progressive state that claims to offer the easiest access to the procedure in the United States. But in a move that is unprecedented in the Supreme Court's modern history, a secret draft ruling written by one of the judges was leaked to a US media outlet. The right to get an abortion in the United States comes from a landmark court decision made in the 1970s. This qualification to his ruling means that abortion access in the US now varies from state to state. "We ... conclude that the right of personal privacy includes the abortion decision, but that this right is not unqualified and must be considered against important state interests in regulation," Justice Harry A Blackmun wrote. The document, published by Politico, suggests five of the nine judges on the bench privately voted to strike down a 49-year-old decision that makes abortion legal at a national level. America's highest court is set to make a decision by the end of June on Mississippi's attempt to ban most terminations after 15 weeks of pregnancy. A leaked bombshell document suggests the US Supreme Court could soon vote to overturn a landmark ruling that grants Americans the constitutional right to an abortion. Roe v Wade: The US Supreme Court's draft ruling on the future of abortion rights appears to have leaked

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What is Roe v Wade and how does it affect abortion rights in the US? (The Guardian)

A woman's right to have an abortion through the first trimester of pregnancy was protected nationally in 1973 following the supreme court's landmark ruling.

All these are factors the woman and her responsible physician necessarily will consider in consultation.” These interests are separate and distinct.” Five Republican-nominated judges were among the majority. “This right of privacy ... is broad enough to encompass a woman’s decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy. “Specific and direct harm medically diagnosable even in early pregnancy may be involved. There is also the distress, for all concerned, associated with the unwanted child, and there is the problem of bringing a child into a family already unable, psychologically and otherwise, to care for it.

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Image courtesy of "Forbes"

White House Is Silent Following News Of Leaked Roe V. Wade ... (Forbes)

Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned on protecting the constitutional right to abortion. Once Biden was elected, it was ...

When asked about the president’s stance on the issue, Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said Biden supports “a woman’s right to choose” and has said he believes “it’s up to a woman to make those decisions,” but does not mention abortion. “It’s hard to have a conversation about abortion policy in this country when you can’t say the word abortion.” Just weeks after the election, it was announced that the press secretary post and all of the top positions of the White House communications team would be held by women.

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What's at stake as Supreme Court appears intent on overturning ... (The Conversation AU)

A draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito suggests that a majority of the court may overturn the landmark 1973 ruling that guaranteed the ...

To be clear, this is not what would happen should the Supreme Court overturn Roe – rather, it would allow states to implement bans based on the ending of a constitutionally guaranteed right to abortion. How much of this change in the experiences of American women is due to Roe? And if it is overturned, will the trends be reversed? The reason women opt to terminate a pregnancy varies. As Shehan notes: “With the availability of a greater range of contraception and abortion drugs other than medical procedures available today, along with a strong demand for women’s labor in the U.S. economy, it seems unlikely that women’s status will ever go back to where it was before 1973. Amanda Stevenson, a sociologist at University of Colorado Boulder, looked into what would happen should the U.S. ends all abortions nationwide. “Women living in poverty have a rate of unintended pregnancy five times higher than those with middle or high incomes. In 1970, the “average age at first marriage for women in the U.S. was just under 21. The opinion is due to be issued later in the year. Although a seismic development in the long-running legal battle and social debate over abortion rights, the development is not entirely unexpected. As an obstetrician/gynecologist, Ireland does, however, hear on a daily basis stories from women who opt for an abortion. Constance Shehan, a sociologist at the University of Florida, provides a snapshot of life for women prior to the landmark case. A leaked draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito suggests the Supreme Court is on the brink of overturning two rulings, including Roe v.

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US Supreme Court to investigate Roe v Wade draft opinion leak ... (ABC News)

The US Supreme Court confirmed the authenticity of the draft opinion as it launches an investigation into who leaked the document to US media.

Four more states are considered likely to quickly pass bans if Roe is overturned. It was signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court's 6-3 conservative majority who was appointed by former President George W Bush. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have protected access to abortion in state law. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told reporters on Capitol Hill that "my confidence in the court has been rocked," and said her proposal with Senator Collins to legislate abortion rights should be reinvigorated. The document was labelled a "1st Draft" of the "Opinion of the Court" in a case challenging Mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks. Maine Republican Susan Collins, who supports abortion rights but was a pivotal GOP vote for the confirmations of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, said if the draft reflects the final opinion of the court, "it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office". "It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives." Politico said only that it received "a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court's proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document". Already, politicians on both sides of the aisle were seizing on the report to fundraise and energise their supporters on both sides of the issue. "We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled," it states, referencing the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v Casey that affirmed Roe's finding of a constitutional right to abortion services but allowed states to place some constraints on the practice. Leaders in New York and California rolled out the welcome mat to their states for women seeking abortions, and other Democratic states moved to protect access to abortion in their laws. "And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November. 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."

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Image courtesy of "Forbes"

After Roe v. Wade Vote, Access To Contraception Could Be Under ... (Forbes)

If Alito's opinion prevails, abortion will be immediately illegal in the 18 states that currently have total or near-total abortion bans already on the books.

Once again, the study authors suggest that having access to birth control such as the pill allows women to delay having children, which means they can invest more in their education and choosing an occupation. It seems unlikely contraception would be included if the state weren’t bracing for the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court could overturn access to birth control as well. They write, “The ratio of women relative to men in professional programs began its rapid ascent in 1970, just as the first pill cohorts graduated from college.” These economists say there is another factor that also likely influenced these advances for women—access to abortion. Raskin is not alone in believing that access to birth control is in jeopardy, others are weighing in as well. The wording of Alito’s opinion has some experts worried that access to contraception could also be restricted in the future. Instead, Alito’s rationale for overturning Roe stems from the fact that abortion isn’t mentioned in the Constitution. “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito writes.

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Image courtesy of "Scientific American"

Overturning Roe v. Wade Could Have Devastating Health and ... (Scientific American)

A leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion suggests the nation's highest court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that guarantees the ...

There is a paper that actually compares outcomes for people who were forced to carry their pregnancy to term with the people who got an abortion and were able to have kids later on. Most of them weren’t. But the person decided to carry that pregnancy to term, and the economic outcomes were better for that child, and the emotional outcomes were better as well. It looked at “What is the impact of having access to abortion on people’s health and well-being?” And what we see is very large health burdens, greater health risks for people who carry pregnancies to term. But the vast majority of them had the baby because there were very few places that would do abortions. We see economic hardship for people who had a child before they were ready, and we measure that through self-reported living in poverty—their income relative to household size—and we can also see it when we look at their credit reports. It’s not that they’re different people having kids; it’s that people have to be able to have kids when they’re ready. Many people who have abortions want to have children later, under better circumstances. The Turnaway Study followed people who sought abortions—some who got their wanted abortion and some who were too far along and were denied. And the idea that [Roe v. But the fact that it’s leaked is shocking, unprecedented. The study found that women denied the procedure were more likely to experience negative health impacts—including worse mental health—than women who received one. Wade, the landmark ruling that guarantees the right to an abortion.

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Image courtesy of "Medical News Today"

What Happens if Roe v. Wade is Overturned? What We Know About ... (Medical News Today)

Newly leaked documents appear to show that the U.S. Supreme Court will likely overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion ...

Clinics in neighboring states are already preparing for a surge in patients from states that limit access to abortion. Twenty-six states are expected to ban or restrict access to abortion if Roe v. “Abortion restrictions create impossible hurdles that nobody should have to overcome in order to get essential healthcare. The case will head back to a district court for proceedings. But it really depends on how the U.S. Supreme Court decision comes out and exactly what the court holds,” said Jared Carter, an assistant professor of law at Vermont Law School and expert in First Amendment law. During the initial arguments in December, Mississippi’s attorney general asked the court to either undo Roe v. Wade were to be undone. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion access nationwide. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case challenging Mississippi’s 15-week ban against most abortions. Wade. The opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito. - Clinics in neighboring states are preparing for a surge in patients from states that limit access to abortion. - Twenty-six states are expected to ban or restrict access to abortion if Roe v.

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Image courtesy of "The Sydney Morning Herald"

Biden says 'radical' Roe v Wade draft ruling threatens privacy in the ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

The US president said he believed the draft decision “would mean that every other decision related to the notion of privacy is thrown into question”.

“The work of the court will not be affected in any way.” A furious Justice Roberts issued a rare out-of-court statement announcing that he had directed his marshall to investigate how the draft was leaked. “The rights of 100 million women are now on the ballot,” he said. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. While it is unlikely the vote would pass unless the filibuster rule changed, such a procedure would allow people to “see which side every Senator stands on,” he said. Vice President Kamala Harris has the deciding vote in the event of a tie.

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Here's what could happen if Roe v. Wade is overturned (NPR)

If the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the landmark decision, it will have a major impact in states across the country that have already signaled their ...

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Image courtesy of "CNN"

Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade ... (CNN)

In a stunning breach of Supreme Court confidentiality and secrecy, Politico has obtained what it calls a draft of a majority opinion written by Justice ...

The court said that a regulation cannot place an "undue burden" on the right to abortion, which is defined as a "substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability." In the opinion, Alito also addresses the fact that Roe has been on the books for some 50 years. Casey. A majority of the court in that case replaced Roe's framework with a new standard to determine the validity of laws restricting abortions. Abortion is your right -- and it is STILL LEGAL," Planned Parenthood said in a tweet Under normal procedure, by the end of that week the justices would have met in their private conference to take a preliminary vote on the issue. At oral arguments, Roberts was the only one of the six Republican appointees who signaled interest in exploring a narrower opinion that would have upheld Mississippi's law but preserved some protections for abortion rights. "The Constitution makes no reference to abortion and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision," Alito wrote. In the past, justices have changed their votes and sometimes a majority opinion ultimately becomes a dissent. The opinion would be the most consequential abortion decision in decades and transform the landscape of women's reproductive health in America. Roberts is willing, however, to uphold the Mississippi law that would ban abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy, CNN has learned. Politico's publishing of the draft is unprecedented by the high court's standards of secrecy. The opinion in this case is not expected to be published until late June.

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Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

Leaked Supreme Court Draft Would Overturn Roe v. Wade (The New York Times)

A majority of the court privately voted to strike down the landmark abortion rights decision, according to the document, obtained by Politico.

In the language of the court, it has been a precedent that cemented the basic rights of women to have access to a legal abortion. The draft opinion makes familiar arguments against Roe. It says that the Constitution is silent about abortion and that nothing in its text or structure supports a constitutional right to abortion. “After ringing these alarms for years now, it’s time to break the glass,” she wrote in a statement. The leak of the draft opinion sent a jolt through Washington Monday night. And the restrictions in state legislatures means that practically speaking, abortion is already difficult if not impossible to access in a wide swath of the country stretching from Florida to Idaho. And early drafts of opinions often change by the time the decision from the court is announced. Abortion has long split the two parties — and the country — though it had receded as a central issue in presidential elections even while remaining a galvanizing issue for many. It also could be intended to soften the blow by signaling to everyone the earthquake to come.” In 1979, aides to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger conducted an investigation to determine the source of a report on how the court planned to rule on a case involving public figures who sue journalists. In California, where abortion rights are protected by a right to privacy that is written into the state constitution, legal scholars predicted that access to the procedure will remain unchanged. Anti-abortion groups are cautiously optimistic that the leaked opinion means their nearly 50-year dream of overturning Roe is actually about to become reality. It is the kind of explosive story that the president’s advisers are likely to take some time to review before having Mr. Biden weigh in.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Supreme court voted to overturn Roe v Wade abortion law, leaked ... (The Guardian)

In an unprecedented revelation, a document written by Justice Samuel Alito says 'Roe was egregiously wrong from the start'

“I am horrified by the apparent draft supreme court opinion leaked this evening … this should not be the supreme court’s final opinion when it comes to abortion rights,” said New York governor Kathy Hochul in a statement. Naral Pro-Choice America’s president Mini Timmaraju called it “the most ominous and alarming sign yet that our nation’s highest court is poised to overturn Roe v Wade”. Republican senator Tom Cotton condemned the apparent leak but applauded the vote, saying: “The Supreme Court & the DOJ must get to the bottom of this leak immediately using every investigative tool necessary. Alito said the court can’t predict how the public might react and shouldn’t try. After the Politico story broke, footage posted to social media showed a crowd of protesters gathering outside the supreme court late on Monday night, waving signs and chanting “my body, my choice.” Neal Katyal, a former US acting solicitor general who has argued many cases before the supreme court, tweeted: “I’ve quickly scanned the draft opinion and it appears legitimate. But if, as expected, it is adopted, the decision would rule in favour of Mississippi in a highly consequential case about that state’s attempt to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The draft opinion runs 98 pages, including a 31-page appendix of historical state abortion laws, and includes 118 footnotes. The justice adds: “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.” It is then circulated among the justices. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.

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Roe v Wade US abortion law to be overturned, leaked court decision ... (The Sydney Morning Herald)

Roe v. Wade is the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion nationwide in the United States.

Veteran Supreme Court lawyer Neal Katyal, who worked as a clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer and therefore has been in a position to see drafts, wrote on Twitter: “There are lots of signals the opinion is legit. US Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said: “An extremist Supreme Court is poised to overturn #RoeVWade and impose its far-right, unpopular views on the entire country. The length and depth of analysis, would be very hard to fake. Alito, in the draft, said the court can’t predict how the public might react and shouldn’t try. The leak jumpstarted the intense political reverberations that the high court’s ultimate decision was expected to have in the midterm election year. A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states and could have huge ramifications for this year’s elections. The report comes amid a legislative push to restrict abortion in several Republican-led states — Oklahoma being the most recent — even before the court issues its decision. Oklahoma, for example, passed several bills in recent weeks, including one that goes into effect this northern summer making it a felony to perform an abortion. This year, anticipating a decision overturning or gutting Roe, eight conservative states have already moved to restrict abortion rights. In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 69 per cent of voters in the presidential election said the Supreme Court should leave the Roe v. Wade decision as is; just 29 per cent said the court should overturn the decision. It was signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, and appointed by former President George W Bush.

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Roe v Wade US abortion law 'to be revoked' (The Canberra Times)

A leaked initial draft majority opinion suggests the US Supreme Court has voted to overturn the Roe v...

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Report: A leaked draft opinion suggests the Supreme Court will ... (NPR)

A draft opinion published by Politico suggests that earlier this year a majority of Supreme Court justices supported overturning the 1973 case Roe v.

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Texas law would make abortion illegal if Roe v. Wade is overturned (Texas Tribune)

Politico said it obtained a draft Supreme Court majority opinion indicating the landmark abortion ruling will be overturned.

But based on the oral arguments of the case in December, she said it wasn’t surprising to see several of the justices endorsing this full-throated rejection of Roe v. “And if Democrats cannot use that to their advantage in this election cycle, something’s broken.” According to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion advocacy research group, that would mean the average Texan would have to drive 525 miles, each way, to obtain an abortion. University of Texas law professor Liz Sepper also cautioned against certainty in the wake of the leak, reiterating that this draft, dated Feb. 10, may not reflect the current or final opinion of the court. Casey. Then he changed his mind, and the court voted to uphold the ruling. She said it’s critical for people to realize that this is not a final ruling. “That’s what we’re concerned about, and [we] won’t fully celebrate until we see the final opinion actually released.” “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” the draft obtained by Politico reads. But with this Mississippi case, the court and its new conservative majority agreed to reconsider the precedent set by Roe v. The state has banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy through a unique civil enforcement mechanism that has, so far, withstood judicial review. Since the 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, reversing nearly 50 years of constitutional protection for abortion, and let states set their own restrictions on the procedure.

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Leaked Draft Opinion Indicates Supreme Court Has Voted Down ... (Vanity Fair)

Justice Samuel Alito describes landmark 1973 ruling as “egregiously wrong” in a draft of a majority opinion obtained by Politico in an unprecedented leak.

Politico, which first reported on Alito's draft opinion, noted that the document could be subject to change. “Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. Drafted in February, Alito's proposed opinion would kill the 1973 Roe decision protecting the right to choose in America and the 1992 Casey v. While Alito is a Bush-appointee, three Trump nominees — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — would help make it possible, along with George H.W. Bush-appointee Clarence Thomas. (The court’s liberal minority — Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan — is reportedly working on at least one dissent; it wasn’t clear Monday how Chief Justice John Roberts, a Bush-appointee, would vote.) The opinion would effectively allow states to write their own abortion laws. There's a strong indication that the right to an abortion in America is being struck down after five decades of protection.

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