The Supreme Court of the United States could reverse the judgment « Roe vs Wade » of 1973 guaranteeing the right to abortion throughout the country. If this happens, what will be the consequences?
« We believe ‘Roe v. Wade’ should be overturned. » This sentence, written by a conservative judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, Samuel Alito, is part of a document of several dozen pages unveiled by the American media Politico on Tuesday May 3. It is a preliminary draft of a majority decision of this same Supreme Court on the cancellation of the 1973 judgment recognizing the federal right to abortion.
« In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion fell under the right to privacy, a fundamental right which is therefore in fact protected by the Constitution », recalls Anne Légier, doctor in American civilization and teacher at Aix University. -Marseilles. A right on which « the states do not have the competence to legislate but can do so on terms », specifies Mathilde Philip-Gay, professor of constitutional law at the University Jean-Moulins Lyon 3. « In certain states, they are so restrictive, that abortion is almost prohibited in fact. »
What would happen if the Supreme Court overturned this « Roe vs. Wade » case? « The question would immediately become a prerogative of the federated states, » explains Anne Légier. Some of which could then decide to completely ban abortion.
« Some states already have ‘trigger laws’ in place, that is, laws that would take effect immediately if the constitutional protections guaranteed by ‘Roe v. Wade’ and ‘Planned Parenthood v. Casey’ – according to which abortion is a constitutionally protected right that states cannot prohibit before the viability threshold of 24 weeks, but on which they can interfere – were called into question by a decision of the Court », explains Anne Light.
Other rights may be at risk
« For each of these states, it would be either a total ban (even for medical reasons) or a ban beyond 6 weeks of pregnancy. However, you should know that the threshold of 6 weeks of pregnancy corresponds to a time when many women are still unaware that they are pregnant. The impact will be felt mainly by the most disadvantaged women who will not be able, for logistical and financial reasons, to travel to a state still allowing abortion. »
And the risk of an annulment does indeed exist in view of the composition of the Supreme Court. « The conservatives are now in the majority there and seem inclined, according to what the document which was disclosed on Tuesday shows, to opt for a total reversal of jurisprudence. Let us recall that President Trump, by appointing three judges to the Supreme Court , upset the ideological balance of this institution », explains Anne Légier. Thus, of the nine judges, six are conservative and three progressive.
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A decision that was part of the former US president’s 2016 campaign promises. « Donald Trump promised that he would appoint one or more anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court. This made it possible to mobilize a religious and conservative electorate who found little in the Trump candidacy », recalls Anne Légier.
Beyond the right to abortion, there is concern about the future of other rights. « According to the project that has been unveiled, it would be a question of saying that the right to privacy would not extend to abortion. However, other rights derive from the right to privacy such as marriage between people of the same sex, the right to contraception … It can go very far”, advances Mathilde Philip-Gay.