What You Need to Know About the Leaked Draft Supreme Court Decision on Roe v. Wade

Photo credit: Photo by Mike Kline (notkalvin) - Getty Images
Photo credit: Photo by Mike Kline (notkalvin) - Getty Images
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This morning it was announced that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case in which the court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.

The news is not a total surprise. Just over a month ago, a leaked initial draft of a majority opinion obtained by Politico written by Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. showed that this was the way the Supreme Court was leaning. The 98-page document argued that Roe v. Wade must be overruled, and that the issue of abortion should be returned to “the people’s elected representatives” and not be a decision made by the courts.

Along with Justice Alito, Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice Roberts all concurred with the judgement.

Dissenting judges were Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who released the following statement: "With sorrow—for this Court, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent."

Now that the Supreme Court has officially overturned Roe v. Wade, what does it mean?

Some states have already enacted abortion bans.

The high court's ruling hands regulatory power of abortions over to state governments. This means that in some states, abortion is now illegal.

In anticipation of this ruling, certain states had already passed so-called trigger laws. This means that they are able to ban abortion immediately with this ruling. The Guttmacher Institute, a New York-based pro-choice research organization, lists Kentucky, Louisiana and South Dakota as states where abortion is now banned.

In Idaho, Tennessee and Texas, trigger laws will make abortion illegal 30 days from today's decision. In those states, abortion is already illegal after six weeks.

And there are a number of other states with abortion ban triggers. On the flip side, there are 16 states and the District of Columbia where access to abortion has been upheld.

In states where abortion is banned, most of the laws target healthcare providers—however, in some states women who seek abortions may also no longer have legal protection.

Local elections are now the battleground for abortion rights.

Now that federal abortion protections have disappeared and regulations around abortion rights have been left up to the individual states, the upcoming fall elections are more important than ever.

Back when the majority opinion was leaked, Beto O'Rourke, who is running for governor in Texas, underscored just how important it is to vote in local elections, saying, "Every woman deserves the freedom to make their own decisions about their body, health care, and future. It's never been more urgent to elect a governor who will always protect a woman's right to abortion."

Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Senator from Minnesota, insists that the fight is just beginning, saying, "What the Supreme Court just did is an outrage. A woman has a right to make her own health care choices. From now until November, we fight."

Reactions against the decision have been quick—and foretell action to come.

A CNN poll conducted by SSRS in January showed that most Americans opposed the idea of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade—with 69 percent of respondents saying they do not want the court to do this.

Republican politicians like Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted their support of the decision.

Michelle Obama quickly expressed her dismay at the news: “I am heartbroken for people around this country who just lost the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies."

Hillary Clinton said, “Most Americans believe the decision to have a child is one of the most sacred decisions there is, and that such decisions should remain between patients and their doctors. Today’s Supreme Court opinion will live in infamy as a step backward for women's rights and human rights."

Politicians weren’t the only ones voicing their opinions and concerns. Writer Roxanne Gay tweeted, “What ends today in more than 20 states is LEGAL abortion, women's and people with uteri's rights to bodily autonomy, and the fragile notion that everyone is free. Clearly, few of us are. I do not know where we go from here but this is not the end of a fight. It's the beginning."

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