U.S. retreat on abortions

It is the darkest day in American history when the superpower is ahead of all other nations in terms of rights! The country's Supreme Court has struck down a five-decade-old legal abortion right for women. It struck down a 50-year-old ruling that gave all women across the country that right. Six of the nine judges (five of them men) ruled against the right to abortion, while three Liberal justices (two of them women) ruled in favor. With this ruling, all the states where the Republicans are in power are likely to deal harshly with abortion. Abortion rights activists have expressed concern that the ruling will turn American women into second-class citizens.

They estimate that nearly half of all women of childbearing age in the country are in Republican-dominated states. Responding to the ruling, US President Biden said it was a sad day for the United States and the courts. He also said that the court has done something it has never done before. It has taken away the fundamental constitutional right of many Americans. He warned that the ruling would have an impact on abortion rights in the November by-elections. Former US President Barack Obama has also protested the ruling. It is flagrant that millions of Americans have been attacked for their freedom.

What is Row vs. Wade Judgment?

In 1969, an unmarried, unemployed woman named Jane Roe (22, real name Norma McCarvey) became pregnant. When she tried for an abortion in Texas, the laws there did not allow it. She then approached the court. The then Dallas County District Attorney named Henry Wade as a defendant in the case. That is why this case is known as the Row vs. Wade case. The U.S. Supreme Court, which has been hearing the case for three years, ruled in favor of Roku by a 7-2 majority. At the time of this case, abortion was legal in only four states in the United States. 16 states allow abortion with some restrictions. The remaining thirty states had banned it. However, the Supreme Court at the time gave the states the right to impose certain restrictions on women's health and the condition of the unborn child.

A law was passed in 2018 in the Republican-dominated state of Mississippi. According to it, women do not have the right to have an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Jackson Women's Health Organization appealed to the district court. The court ruled in favor of the company, citing the 1973 Row v. Wade judgment. The Mississippi state government has appealed to the Supreme Court, which has ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not provide for abortion for actual women.