HOT POTATO
The draft document on abortion rights puts the issue right at the centre of the American social and political life just six months before a national election
A metaphorical bomb of a decision went off at the US Supreme Court last Monday night, fully six weeks ahead of its scheduled issuance. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the 98-page document, styling it as an opinion of the Court” in Dobbs vs Jackson Women's Health Organization. Lawyers constructed this Mississippi lower court case to appeal to the justices to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion first established by Roe and re-affirmed by Casey in 1992. This leaked draft of a majority decision would allow the 50 states to ban abortions. If the Court's decision remains unchanged, it means Roe vs Wade, which enshrined a woman's rights in medical decisions, is dead. The final form of the Court's decision is due by the end of June, when the current Court session ends.
The justices, and those who manage the Court, are extremely upset that a draft has leaked. Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court John Roberts wants an investigation. Leaks have happened before, but the magnitude of this case is different. The level of partisanship and antipathy for the other side that has permeated two of three branches of American government-the Presidency and the Congress-has now escalated at the third, the Supreme Court. In a statement last Tuesday, the Supreme Court confirmed that the draft opinion is authentic, but said that “it does not represent a decision by the court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.” Justice Alito called it wrongly decided and said the contentious issue, which has animated political debates in the United States for more than a generation, should be determined by politicians, not the courts.
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