The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday formally withdrew Rowe v. Wade, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion has been in place for almost half a century, and no more.
Writing for a majority of the court, Justice Samuel Alito said the 1973 RO judgment and the repeat High Court decision re-establishing the RO “must be overturned” because they were “seriously wrong”, the arguments “extremely weak” and therefore “harmful” “abuse of judicial power.”
The decision, most of which was leaked in early May, means abortion rights will be restored to about half of the states immediately, with more bans likely to follow. For all practical purposes, abortion cannot be found in large parts of the country. This decision could also mean that the court itself, as well as the question of abortion, will become a focal point in the upcoming autumn elections and autumn and beyond.
Alito’s views were echoed by Justice Clarence Thomas, first appointed by President Bush, and three of Trump’s employers – Justice Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanagh and Amy Connie Barrett. Chief Justice Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush, only agreed with the ruling and limited the decision to uphold Mississippi law in this case, which prohibits abortion 15 weeks later.
Opposition groups included Justice Stephen Breyer, appointed by President Clinton, and Justices Sonia Stomayer and Elena Kagan, appointed by President Obama.
“With grief – for this court, but more, for the millions of American women who have lost basic constitutional protection today – we disagree,” they wrote.
Alito wrote, for example, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 decision that supported Roy’s central holding, and wrote Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy and David Souther, all Republican-appointed judges on the court. Alito Casey indicated in the language of opinion that he said that the interests of “recognized” dependence are not actually involved because contraception can prevent almost all unplanned pregnancies.
