US SC wades into epic row on abortions

WASHINGTON: An epic showdown unfolded before the US Supreme Court on Tuesday as scores of pro-choice and anti-abortion activists rushed there through the night on hearing that the apex court is set to overturn a landmark half-century old ruling that protects a pregnant woman's liberty to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.
In a bombshell disclosure, the journal Politico reported on Monday night that it had obtained a draft of an opinion in which the court's conservative majority voted to strike down Roe v Wade, which largely confers on women a federal constitutional right to terminate unwanted pregnancy.
The new opinion, which is not official pending a final ruling, reportedly says states can criminalise abortion -- a hot button issue in the battle between liberals and conservatives in the United States -- with no rape or incest exception.
The Supreme Court confirmed on Tuesday morning that the leaked draft opinion was authentic, it was not final. It also announced an investigation in the leak, with Chief Justice John Roberts saying, “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed.”
Such is the explosive nature of the issue that President Joe Biden waded into it first thing Tuesday morning, maintaining that "a woman’s right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned.”
The US President also turned the putative ruling into a referendum issue in the November Congressional election, urging voters to elect pro-choice candidates so that the US legislature can codify the original ruling into law.
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe. v Wade, "it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose,” Biden said, arguing that the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling is based on "a long line of precedent recognizing the Fourteenth Amendment’s concept of personal liberty… against government interference with intensely personal decisions."
The Politico scoop, based on a leak, was likened by Supreme Court lawyer and law professor Neal Katyal to the Pentagon Papers expose because internal deliberations of the Supreme Court are never revealed and this is the first such major breach in the US legal history.
"It is exactly the hardline position I’ve been saying the court is going to impose for the last three years. It will set women back in profound ways. Congress must act ASAP," Katyal, a former US acting solicitor general tweeted, as liberals and conservatives vent their respective positions.
The social and ideological clash, which could further inflame the already polarised politics in the country, was apparent in scores of statements by lawmakers and public figures on both sides of the debate.
“If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past 50 years – not just on women but on all Americans,” House speaker Nancy Pelosi said. And from Republican Senator Ted Cruz: “If this report is true, this is nothing short of a massive victory for life and will save the lives of millions of innocent babies.”
According to Politico, the 98-page report describes abortion as a “profound moral issue, on which Americans hold sharply conflicting views”, and refers to the Roe v Wade decision as “egregiously wrong”, adding, “its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences”.
In conclusion, conservative Justice Samuel Alito writes, “the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion”, and says the court now returns “that authority to the people and their elected representatives”.
Conservatives have a 6-3 majority in the US Supreme Court, which is politically rigged by whichever party chances upon vacancies when it is in power. President Trump lucked into three vacancies during his time in the White House. Although the views of conservative Chief Justice John Roberts often align with the liberal minority, conservatives could still overturn Roe v Wade by 5-4.