According to the newspaper Politicowhich is based on an unprecedented leak of documents, the Supreme Court of the United States is preparing to annul the historic judgment of 1973 in which it recognized the right to abortion.
Never had such a leak been recorded by the American Supreme Court, where the secrecy of deliberations reigns supreme. But in one article, the daily Politico claims to have obtained the preliminary draft of a majority decision written by conservative judge Samuel Alito and dated February 10 in which the magistrates clearly implied that they were ready to nibble, or even simply cancel, Roe v . Wade.
Roe v. Wade, who nearly half a century ago argued that the US Constitution protected women’s right to abortion, was “ totally unfounded from the start “, is it written in this proposed text. ” We believe that Roe v. Wade needs to be canceled », adds Samuel Alito, for whom the right to abortion « is not protected by any provision of the Constitution “.
Return to pre-1973 situation
This project must still be the subject of negotiations until its publication before June 30th. But if this conclusion is accepted by the High Court, the United States will return to the situation in force before 1973 when each state was free to prohibit or authorize abortions. Given the significant geographical and political divisions on the subject, half of the states, especially in the conservative south and center, should quickly banish the procedure on their soil.
► To read also: United States: the right to abortion suspended
“ Let’s be clear: this is a draft. It is scandalous, unprecedented but not final: abortion remains your right and is still legal tweeted Planned Parenthood, which runs many abortion clinics.
Let’s be clear: This is a draft opinion. It’s outrageous, it’s unprecedented, but it is not final.
Abortion is your right—and it is STILL LEGAL. https://t.co/s9R7w99n71—Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) May 3, 2022
Warning signs
The Supreme Court has been profoundly overhauled by Donald Trump who, in five years, brought in three judges, solidifying his conservative majority (six judges out of nine). Since September, this new Court has sent several favorable signals to opponents of abortion. At first she refused to prevent the entry into force of a Texas law that limits the right to an abortion in the first six weeks of pregnancy compared to two trimesters under the current legal framework.
► To read also: United States: Idaho adopts an anti-abortion law similar to that of Texas
During the examination in December of a Mississippi law, which also questioned the legal deadline for an abortion. The document presented by Politico relates to this file.
Defenders of the right to abortion met spontaneously in the evening, Monday, in front of the white marble temple which houses the Supreme Court in Washington.
(with AFP)