Here’s What America Would Look Like Without Roe v Wade
(TargetLiberty.org) – There’s a possibility the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is going to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey when it issues its opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health Organization in a few weeks. The case is related to a 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi that goes against the previous right to privacy precedents set by the high court. When the SCOTUS heard oral arguments for the case on December 1, the conservative justices seemed as though they were leaning in that direction.
Then on May 2, POLITICO published the first draft of the Dobbs opinion. The website obtained the copy, written in February by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, through a SCOTUS leaker. The 98-page draft showed a majority of the court (5-4) initially voted to overturn the landmark privacy rulings, which would render abortion a states’ rights issue. While the leak is being investigated, Americans are learning what would happen if the SCOTUS sticks with its draft decision.
Post-Dobbs America
If the Supreme Court sides with Mississippi in the Dobbs case and overturns the previous abortion precedents, then the procedure would immediately become illegal in 13 states. Those states have what are called “trigger laws.” Those are laws that are already on the books but in sort of a holding pattern. They would only go into effect if Roe v. Wade were overturned by the high court.
South Dakota and Louisiana have had trigger laws on their books for more than 15 years. The other states with such laws are Arkansas, Kentucky, Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Wyoming, and Texas.
In addition to trigger laws, a number of other states would either enact outright abortion bans or pass laws severely restricting the procedure, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and others. Nearly half of US states are likely to have total or partial bans.
A Long Time Coming
Pro-life Republicans have been working toward the goal of overturning Roe v. Wade for decades. Many, including Justice Alito, believe the 1973 ruling was wrong from the start because the Constitution does not directly address privacy rights. Instead, they believe it’s a state issue. Further, devout Conservatives couldn’t stomach the thought of babies dying every day for no reason.
Conservatives united behind the pro-life movement and decided early on they would undo it. When President Donald Trump took office in 2017 and Republicans had control of the Senate, they began reshaping the court. Then, shockingly, Trump had the opportunity to add three Supreme Court justices to the bench, including Liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement. While national leaders reshaped the courts, local and state lawmakers enacted strict abortion laws in the hopes of making it in front of the high court and giving the justices the opportunity to overrule abortion completely.
It seems that strategy is finally paying off.
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