Integrity Score 1712
No Records Found
No Records Found
No Records Found
The Supreme Court justices signaled a potential major shift on abortion law on Dec. 1, 2021. Hearing arguments in a case that could fundamentally alter abortion rights and regulations throughout the nation, the six conservative justices who hold the majority in the highest court seemed divided: Would they overturn the core right to abortion entirely or would they allow abortion to be limited by the states to the early stages of pregnancy?
In either approach, the court seemed to be moving toward the position that some decisions may be left to individual states rather than established by the Supreme Court. And although Supreme Court decisions cannot always be predicted by oral arguments alone, either outcome would represent a historic move away from the landmark precedent of Roe v. Wade, which has set out Americans’ constitutional right to abortion for almost 50 years.
Since that 1973 decision, a powerful legal movement has sought to overturn Roe v. Wade, while abortion rights advocates have fought to protect it.
The arguments at the court on Dec. 1 suggest that there is a third path the justices could – and might – take.
Roe not a monolith
There were two separate rulings in Roe:
1) The Constitution protects a right to privacy, which encompasses the abortion decision.
2) A fetus is not a person in the early stages of pregnancy. Personhood emerges around the time of viability at approximately six months, which justifies a compelling state interest at that point.
Read full story at The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-signals-shift-on-abortion-but-will-it-strike-down-roe-or-leave-it-to-states-to-decide-when-personhood-occurs-172934
Image Credits: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/abortion-rights-advocates-and-anti-abortion-protesters-news-photo/1236932990?adppopup=true