U.S. Supreme Court might overturn Roe vs. Wade

The U.S. Supreme Court might overturn one of its landmark decisions made 49 years ago, which recognized women’s right to abortion as a fundamental human right.

Politico published an exclusive report on Monday that a majority of Supreme Court justices assented to reversing Roe vs. Wade, citing an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, which the newspaper obtained.

According to the Politico, Justice Alito wrote, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” and that its reasoning was “exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.” “We hold that Roe must be overruled. It is time to return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives,” wrote Justice Alito.

In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered the landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling, which recognized women’s right to abortion by allowing for abortion up to 22-24 weeks into pregnancy, after which a fetus can survive outside the womb.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barret, all of whom are Republican-appointed justices, are reported to have agreed to the draft opinion written by Justice Alito. As five out of nine justices voted in favor of overturning Roe, it is highly likely that the right to abortion would be struck down. The U.S. Supreme Court has been hearing arguments on the unconstitutionality of Mississippi’s abortion law, which was brought last year by an abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi. The Court’s final judgment is scheduled to be rendered as early as June.

Once a ruling becomes final and conclusive, whether to ban abortion is left for each state legislature to decide. Twenty-four Republican-controlled states are advancing bills to limit abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Some states, including the state of Oklahoma, have passed bills prohibiting abortions except in cases where the pregnant person’s life is endangered.

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