Today is Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022.
Yesterday, in anticipation of primary elections all across the country, a Supreme Court staffer leaked the draft opinion of the majority that Roe v Wade is not Constitutional, and should be stricken down, and that they issue should rightfully be decided by the legislatures, in each state, if necessary.
My initial response is that this seems very expected and not a big deal: you've had 50 years to plead your case to the voters and lawmakers (which doesn't include the Supreme Court) and get all the states, etc, to pass laws legalizing abortion. Colorado just passed a law, apparently (that I don't know the details of).
That's how the process is supposed to work, right? The Constitution enumerates the responsibilities of the Federal Government. Anything not in it is left to the States to legislate. Over the course of our country's history, the legislatures have enacted laws that are in contradiction to the Constitution, and sometimes those laws have gotten struck down, and sometimes they haven't. Some weren't until years later when the Supreme Court has revisited prior decisions. It's been a messy process quite a few times.
Opponents to Roe v Wade come from different stances, for sure. Some believe that all abortion is wrong, evil, even. Some believe that it was an incorrect decision based on the law, believe it or not. I don't think anyone is in a room saying "I want to control what women do with their bodies."
Here's the conclusion paragraph of the opinion:
"Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each state from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives."
Here's the link to the leaked document.
If your read it, you may learn several things, which may or may not change your stance, but should educate you that this is, as mentioned above, a messy bit of legislative history..
