ABORTION RIGHT ENDS IN US

The US Supreme Court Overturns ‘Roe v. Wade’ Judgement

The US Supreme Court Ends The Abortion Rights

The United States Supreme Court dominated by the conservative court by a 6-3 majority overturned the court’s landmark 1973 judgment ‘Roe v. Wade’ that enshrined a woman's right to an abortion a constitutional right. The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – handed down on June 24, 2022 – has a historic & far-reaching consequence. This decision is likely to not only transform American life or the lives of American women or reshape the nation’s politics – but is likely to continue to have serious implications for people who are pro-choice, the right to abortion & socio-legal movements that are centred on reproductive rights across the globe. The ruling might make way to all but about half the US states may ban on the procedure of abortions. Individual States will now determine the abortion rights— which have been available to women for over two generations.

Supreme Court’s decision

The Supreme Court decided to uphold Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy by a 6-3 majority. In doing so, the two key decisions protecting access to abortion were overturned: 1973’s Roe v. Wade & Planned Parenthood v. Casey, decided in 1992. The court opines the Constitution doesn’t mention abortion or guarantee abortion rights via another right, the right to liberty. Roe was egregiously not right from the beginning. The reasoning which was really weak, & the decision that was taken, has had damaging consequences & Far from bringing about a national settlement of this great issue “abortion”, Roe & Casey have made enflamed debate and deepened division.

New laws will be introduced

The ruling will likely set into motion a series of new laws in roughly half of the 50 US states that will severely outright ban or restrict & criminalize abortions, forcing women to measure long distances to states that still allow the procedure. Gestational bans have been passed by many states prohibiting abortion at various stages of pregnancy in recent years. The courts have blocked many of those laws in response to legal challenges. A host of other restrictions could limit where, by whom, & under what conditions abortion can be provided. Some examples include laws requiring parental notification or consent for abortions involving patients who are minors; & other health regulations for doctors & clinics that many medical groups say are unnecessary, expensive, & difficult to abide by.

Opionion Polls

Opinion polls display majority of Americans support abortion rights. But anti-abortion activists & Christian conservatives have been persisting to overturn Roe for decades. The U.S. has witnessed the change by 8% increase in abortions during the three years ending in 2020, it was reversing a 30-year trend of declining numbers, according to data released on June 15 by a research group the Guttmacher Institute that supporters abortion rights. In 1980, the U.S. abortion rate peaked, seven years after the Roe ruling, at 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women of child-bearing age – 15-44 – & stood at 13.5 per 1,000 in 2017 before increasing to 14.4 per 1,000 women by 2020. In 2020, there had been 930,160 U.S. abortions, with 20.6% of pregnancies ending in abortion, up from 18.4% in 2017. From 2017 to 2020, Mississippi experienced a 40% increase in abortions performed. Abortion rights have generally been increasing globally. said around 73 million abortions take place globally each year, including 29% of all pregnancies, according to the UN World Health Organization.

Battle between legal experts

The court's ruling has gone against an international trend of easing abortion laws, including in such countries as Argentina, Colombia, Ireland, & Mexico where the Catholic Church continues to facilitate considerable influence. Legal experts cite those new questions will be posed for other courts to deal with by the SC’s decision. Battles are also likely in state courts. Abortion bans in restrictive states may bleed over to states that protect abortion rights too. The Supreme Court’s rolling back a right puts the U.S. in the minority of nations, most of which have been heading toward liberalization. Nevertheless, even though, many see abortion as essential health care, there is likely to continuation of the cultural fight in upcoming days. In the American scenario, post-overturning of Roe vs Wade, how ‘accountable’ do the legislative-executive remain in upholding the constitutional freedoms, across states, and what can be done to ensure reproductive rights, access & needs, & the right of a woman to choose her own fate, remains to be seen.