The Roe v Wade case was established in 1973 in the American Supreme Court and lasted for nearly 50 years. It gives pregnant women the liberty to choose what they want to do - whether to get an abortion or not - without too many legalities from the government.
However, some recent leaks of a Supreme Court draft opinion indicate that this decision may be overturned. The conclusion on this matter will be given in late June to early January. Samuel Alito, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States wrote in an initial draft of a document labeled “Opinion of the Court”: “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.”
If the Roe v Wade case is overturned, abortion wouldn't immediately become illegal throughout the country. However, it would allow each state to individually choose how much access to abortion a woman can have, especially those who have already shown their intentions to restrict or ban abortion through trigger laws. According to CNN, 22 states have enacted unenforceable laws that restrict access to abortion and may achieve enforceability as soon as there is a decision from the Supreme Court in favor of them. While the other 16 states plus DC protect abortion access even without Roe v. Wade and have been further working on its accessibility. For example, in Colorado, in March 2022, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newson signed legislation that removes some financial barriers to abortion services.
“What we’re seeing right now is the buildup of decades where state legislatures have been adopting restriction after restriction, and now they’re moving to adopt ban after ban,” said Elizabeth Nash, state policy analyst for the Guttmacher Institute. The Roe v Wade case is one of the most widely discussed topics in the United States. If overturned, many things in the country would be different and the lives of many women would be affected indefinitely.
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