A historic sentence against American women and that increases polarization in the North American nation. The Supreme Court of Justice revoked this Friday, June 24, a sentence that dates from the year 1973 in which the federal right to abortion was protected. The controversial decision gives the green light to each state of the union to maintain or prohibit that right. These are some of the questions that arise after what was put forward today by the High Court.
The country is divided in two, since the territories governed by the Republicans may take advantage of the Court’s ruling and make this practice illegal. At least 13 have already done so.
According to ‘Planned Parenthood’, which has the largest network of reproductive health clinics in the North American country, as well as the ‘Guttmacher Institute’, specialized in the issue, at least 26 states where Republicans govern will join the Court’s ruling .
Thus, the ruling of the Supreme Court also raises other questions:
What was the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States?
The court’s conservative majority ruled, by six votes to three, in favor of overturning the ruling known as ‘Roe v. Wade’, which ruled that the country’s Constitution protects the freedom of pregnant American women to choose abortion without government restrictions, as well as another resolution known as ‘Planned Parenthood vs. Casey’, which reaffirmed the above, but allowed the states to establish regulations in the process.
What does it say verbatim?
The decision was drafted by Conservative Justice Samuel Alito. The document is very explicit:
“The constitution does not confer the right to abortion,” he says.
“Abortion represents a profound moral issue. The constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each state from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We are now repealing those decisions and returning authority to the people and their elected representatives.”
For Alito, ‘Roe vs. Wade is “grossly wrong and deeply damaging.” The judge points directly to the US Magna Carta by stressing that the right to abortion is not included in the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which allows limits on legislative activity when it affects “life, liberty or property.” ”.
Who is fundamentally affected by this ruling?
According to Planned Parenthood, at least 36 million women of reproductive age will be affected and may lose the right to an abortion. Above all, the most vulnerable people in society such as the Latino, Afro-American, indigenous communities, people with disabilities, young immigrants, etc.
The alternative for those who wish to have an abortion would be to move to other states. New York is currently one of the countries that receives the most women, between 190,000 and 280,000 a year, according to calculations by state legislators.
The practice of this method has been increasing in recent years. In 2020 alone, more than 930,000 interruptions were carried out throughout the country, a much higher figure than that reported in 2017, with more than 862,000.
What do the three judges who voted against the repeal of the right to abortion say?
The dissenting opinion came from the hand of the three magistrates who voted against, the three of more progressive tendencies.
“Respecting women as autonomous beings and guaranteeing their total equality means substantially granting them the option of choosing the most personal decisions and consequences of their lives,” they argued.
The judges lamented that “from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no right to speak. A state can force her to continue her pregnancy, even at higher personal and family costs.”
The three togados warned that the states that will veto abortion will not only “stop there.” They stressed that “Perhaps, in light of today’s decision, a state’s law will criminalize women’s conduct, imprison or fine them for daring to seek or have an abortion.”
What is the “concurring opinion” of one of the conservative justices?
One of the six justices in favor of the repeal of the case ‘Roe vs. Wade’ presented what is known as “concurring opinion”.
It consists of a criterion that agrees with that of the majority, but that disagrees with the reasoning based on the sentence.
Justice Clarence Thomas noted that the Court “should reconsider all of the notable due process precedents of this Court,” including rulings guaranteeing protections for same-sex marriage and access to contraceptives.
According to Thomas, “after overturning these proven erroneous decisions, the question of whether there are other constitutional provisions that protect the enormous number of rights that our fundamental due process cases have generated would remain to be resolved.”
Restriction, persecution and criminalization
Last September, the state of Texas prohibited abortion from the moment cardiac activity was detected in the fetus, which can occur in about six weeks, even before, and in many cases, women know they are pregnant. pregnant.
This was one of the most restrictive laws in the country, which activists fear other territories will take as an example. The fact that prosecutors demand information from clinics to enforce the new provisions, as was already happening in Texas, is a concern for women’s rights organizations.
There, anyone who participates in the abortion process is also criminalized, including the taxi driver who takes the patient to the clinic to undergo the process, in addition to encouraging denunciation.
However, clinics are not the most common method of abortion in the United States. In 54% of interruptions, the abortion pill is used.
This May, the state of Oklahoma also led what was until now the anti-abortion position throughout the territory, so that any abortion was prohibited, except when the life of the pregnant woman is in danger, or when the pregnancy is caused by a rape or incest.
With EFE and international media
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