Towards the abolition of the right to abortion in the United States?

Based on a leak of American justice – an extremely rare event – the news site Politico revealed that the Supreme Court is considering overturning the historic judgment legalizing voluntary termination of pregnancy in the United States. Information confirmed by the Court, which explains that the document, a 98-page report signed by the curator Samuel Alito, does not constitute a “final” decision, but a “draft” decision. An investigation has been opened to determine the origin of this disclosure.

A right for women for almost 50 years

Since the “Roe vs. Wade” judgment dating from 1973, the right to abortion has been guaranteed for American women. A right called into question by Samuel Alito, conservative magistrate of the Supreme Court, who calls for the pure and simple “cancellation” of the 1973 judgment, which is deemed “totally unfounded from the start”. The right to abortion “is not deeply rooted in the history and traditions of the nation and is not protected by any provision of the Constitution“support the judge.”The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each state from regulating or prohibiting abortion“.

For Nancy Pelosi, such a reversal would constitute “an abomination, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history“. The President of the United States, Joe Biden for his part indicated that “if the Court does overturn Roe, it will fall to the nation’s elected officials, at all levels, to protect women’s right to choose. And it will be up to voters to nominate pro-abortion representatives, (during the midterm elections), in November“.

Can the project succeed?

The project would have been supported by a majority of magistrates of the Supreme Court, according to Politico. But the preliminary draft could still be subject to modifications until the end of June. If such a reversal were to occur, abortion will be a right submitted to the States, which could impose deadlines or even ban abortions.

Yet, as WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus recalls, “Access to safe abortions saves lives. Restricting access to abortion does not reduce the number of procedures – it leads women and girls to resort to unsafe procedures”. As a reminder, the WHO estimates that there are 25 million unsafe abortions every year in the world, which are the cause of nearly 40,000 deaths, most of them in low-income countries, in Africa or in Asia.

A “patriarchal and religious” decision

Asked about the issue, Dr. Ghada Hatem, founder of the Maison des Femmes de Saint-Denis and member of the Doctissimo committee of experts, is very virulent on the subject. “It is incomprehensible for me to come back to this right, which concerns only women and them alone. Once again, they are made to understand that they are not masters of their bodies, that they cannot make their own decisions” hammers the gynecologist. “How can men make this type of decision in place of women? It’s a question that engages society, it’s unwanted children that these women will have to raise, it’s crazy that we can, in 2022, still want to decide for them? still indignant Ghada Hatem.

Can this change in France?

France, for its part, has just extended the period of access to abortion, from 12 to 14 weeks. Could this type of reversal take place in France? “Honestly, I don’t think so” reassures the specialist. “France has a long history of struggles, the political functioning is different from the United States too. And frankly, such an announcement would put many women, and me first, in the street to demonstrate against a decision of this kind”concludes Ghada Hatem who recalls that prohibiting abortion had never prevented abortions from taking place, but made them more dangerous for the women who undergo them.

In the United States, the final decision is expected for the beginning of the summer.