Historic turning point in the USA: The country’s Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion that had been in force for five decades. With its conservative majority of judges, the Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 ruling “Roe v. Wade” that legalized abortion. While anti-abortion opponents and conservatives cheered the decision, President Joe Biden spoke of a “tragic mistake” – the United States is facing another societal ordeal.
In 1973, the Supreme Court made a landmark decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion, legalizing abortion nationwide. Conservative politicians and activists have been fighting the landmark ruling for decades. Their chances of success increased when ex-President Donald Trump appointed three new constitutional judges during his tenure. Conservative lawyers now have a clear majority of six of the nine judges on the Supreme Court.
Anti-abortion activists erupted in jubilation outside the Supreme Court in Washington when the decision was announced. Trump celebrated the verdict as God’s decision. “God decided that,” the ex-president said on Fox News. Former Vice President Mike Pence said abortion rights “belong on the dustbin of history.” The judges had “corrected a historical injustice,” said the arch-conservative opponent of abortion.
Abortion rights overturned: Democrats dismayed
President Biden and other Democrat politicians, on the other hand, reacted with horror. In a White House address, Biden said the Supreme Court’s decision was a “tragic error” that stemmed from an “extreme ideology”. “The health and lives of the women of this country are now at risk,” he warned.
The Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, spoke of a “cruel” and “outrageous” verdict. The court gave women a “slap in the face”. Ex-President Barack Obama called the court decision an attack on the “fundamental freedoms” of US citizens.
The decision of the Supreme Court restores the legal situation in the USA from 50 years ago: Although abortions are not automatically illegal, the individual US states are free to allow abortions, restrict them or ban them altogether.
Who defends abortion rights – and who doesn’t
Stricter laws are now expected in 26 conservatively governed states. Attorney General Eric Schmitt signed an abortion ban in Missouri on Friday. This makes Missouri the first state “to effectively end abortion,” he said on Twitter. 13 states, such as South Dakota, had prepared laws before the Supreme Court’s decision that were to come into force after the verdict.
In the future, many women will be forced to travel to other states if they want to have an abortion. For many, this is likely to be very difficult, among other things for financial reasons.
The states of California, Oregon and Washington, which are ruled by the Democrats, announced that they would defend abortion rights. Planned Parenthood, the leading provider of abortions in the United States, also announced that it would “never” give up the fight for abortion rights.
Abortion rights are one of the most controversial socio-political issues in the United States. After the Supreme Court ruling, it is likely to play an important role in the election campaign for the mid-term congressional elections in November. The Democrats, who are heading for a serious electoral defeat, will try to mobilize voters with a fight for abortion rights. In his speech, Biden called for people to continue fighting “peacefully” for the right to abortion and to vote at the ballot box in the midterm elections.
Source: Stern
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