On May 2nd, 2022, a Politico article was released that contained a leaked copy of the Supreme Court’s draft decision of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that would most likely have been released formally in June or July of this year. The leaked decision, penned by Justice Samuel Alito, overturns Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that guaranteed the constitutionality of abortion in the U.S. Caroline Reilly, Reporting Fellow with Rewire News Group, sits down to talk with us about the recent leaked draft and what this decision means for the future of abortion in America. 

 

The leaked draft ultimately upholds Mississippi’s 15-week ban at the heart of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, overturns Roe v. Wade, and overturns Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, which ruled that patients cannot face “undue burden” when attempting to access an abortion. Technically and currently, abortion is still legal in all 50 states. This draft is not a ruling, but a window into what the Supreme Court is possibly planning to decide regarding the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.

 

If the Supreme Court indeed rules in line with the leaked draft, it will mean abortion will be illegal in half of the country. 26 states are likely to ban abortion if Roe is overturned. Those states and others will also likely take the opportunity to pass additional legislation that severely restrict or ban abortion care. This will lead to broad swaths of the country where abortion is inaccessible, and smatterings of states where abortion is accessible— leading to overwhelmed reproductive healthcare infrastructure in the states that do offer abortion care. 

 

As the U.S. faces these unprecedented attacks, we must remember that abortion is healthcare, abortion is freedom, and abortion is autonomy, and that the majority of Americans support upholding Roe. The fight to ensure access to basic, timely, and critical reproductive healthcare will continue. 

 

 

Links

Caroline Reilly on Twitter

Caroline Reilly on Rewire

Rewire News Group on Twitter

Rewire News Group on Facebook 

 Center for Reproductive Rights “If Roe Fell” map

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