Abortion Rights Bounced In USA
- 25-Jun-2022
- 0 Comments
Washington: In a significant curtailment of women’s rights, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, a 1973 landmark decision giving women in America the right to have an abortion before the foetus is viable outside the womb — before the 24-28 week mark. The ruling was expected for some weeks now, after a draft opinion leaked in early May, sending shock waves through the country and sparking protests. Abortion rights — which have been available to women for over two generations — will now be determined by individual States.
Some 20 States have laws (which were overruled by Roe until Friday) restricting or banning abortions. Thirteen States have laws banning the procedure, that come into effect.
‘The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,’ Justice Samuel Alito, a conservative appointed by George W Bush, wrote for the majority. He called Roe’s reasoning ‘exceptionally weak’ and said Roe and Casey had not brought a ‘settlement’ of the issue nationally, but ‘enflamed debate and deepened division’.
