AusGeoff
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As reported by the Melbourne AGE today...
The United States Supreme Court has overturned Roe v Wade, the landmark 1973 decision which recognised Americans' constitutional right to abortion and legalised it nationwide, handing a momentous victory to Republicans and religious conservatives who want to limit or ban the procedure. The court, in a 6-3 ruling, upheld a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks.
The majority of justices found Roe v Wade was wrongly decided because the US constitution makes no specific mention of abortion.
It will now be up to individual states to decide if abortion is legal.
A draft version of the ruling written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito indicating the court was likely to overturn Roe v Wade was leaked in May, igniting a political firestorm.
"The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision," Mr Alito wrote in the ruling.
Roe v Wade recognised that the right to personal privacy under the US Constitution protected a woman's ability to terminate her pregnancy. The Supreme Court in a 1992 ruling called Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v Casey reaffirmed abortion rights and prohibited laws imposing an "undue burden" on abortion access.
"Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have inflamed debate and deepened division," Mr Alito added. _______________________________________________________________________
—Is this the beginning of the end for American democracy? The Bush-appointed Alito has been one of the most rabid of the right-wing Republicans to sit on the SCOTUS. He's been on the bench for too long at 17 years, and is too old for the job at 72 years. Alito's entire term on the Court has been one of disruption and divisiveness, with a total lack of bipartisan thought.
A central tenet of the SCOTUS jurisprudence is stare decisis, that once the Court has ruled on something, it is settled law and is entitled to permanence, even if later courts may disagree with it. That is particularly true where you have a 50-year long established precedent like Roe.
Alito and the four justices who are reportedly ready to rule with him are sending the Supreme Court down that same slippery slope. And they are sending a dangerous message: If Roe can be tossed out, then any Supreme Court precedent is in jeopardy.
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