The Politico revelations have galvanized the anti-abortion clan who want to go further than the « mere » burial of the 1973 decision.
A note, revealed on Tuesday by Politico, has reignited political and legislative tensions around the right to abortion. The US Supreme Court is about to bury Roe v. Wade who, since 1973, has been protecting abortion. Not content with this pre-conservative victory, the decision agitates the Republican camp. In the four corners of the country, local and federal elected officials are asking themselves: should we go further?
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Because the only quashing of the Roe v. Wade does not allow abortion to be banned on American territory: it triggers a return to the situation before 1973, when each state was free to authorize or not the use of abortion on its soil. If the decision is well buried next month, abortion could thus become illegal in 26 states out of 50. This count, established by the Guttmacher research institute, lists in particular states such as Alabama, Arizona, Missouri, Texas where access to abortion is already made very complicated – if not almost impossible – and which a priori would not hesitate to ban abortion.
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Ban nationwide
But this fragmented ban does not entirely satisfy the most conservative, for whom a national banishment remains necessary. At the federal level, a draft response has already been provided by Republican senators. In an interview with USA Today on Thursday, conservative leader Mitch McConnell said a nationwide abortion ban would be “possible», if Roe v. Wade was canceled this summer.
« If the leaked opinion were to become the final opinion, legislative bodies – not only at the state level but also at the federal level – could certainly legislate in this area.“, he continued, considering that on this subject “the position of the Republican senators is quite clear« .
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This desire is not surprising: the Democrats, encouraged by Joe Biden, are betting on a similar strategy to, conversely, legalize abortion throughout the territory. However, on one side as on the other, the legislators are paralyzed by the absence of a clear majority in the Senate. Without it – that is to say without 60 senators from the same camp – it is difficult to definitively ban abortion. Only a red wave at the end of the mid-term elections could open up this prospect.
Homicide and complicity
While waiting for the November election, the most fervent opponents of abortion are counting on the local level. Just days after the Supreme Court document leaked, the Washington Post revealed the contents of a bill that could pass in Louisiana. This state, governed by anti-abortion Democrat John Bel Edwards, has been unraveling Roe v. Wade in order to limit access to abortion as much as possible. In May 2019, the governor had already banned abortion beyond 6 weeks, the time when a heartbeat is detected, even in cases of rape or incest.
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The end of national protection would allow Louisiana to go further: concretely, the project would make recourse to abortion a homicide. The text, which confers constitutional rights on every person “from the moment of fertilization», would therefore make it possible to prosecute women who have chosen to have an abortion. If the decision is not yet official, it should quickly become so given the Republican majority in the two parliamentary assemblies of the State.
Make abortion “unthinkable”
In Mississippi, a state neighboring Louisiana, the repeal of Roe v. Wade could she have an impact on the means of contraception. Asked about this possibility on several occasions by CNN, Republican Governor Tate Reeves refused to answer clearly. Kicking into touch, he preferred to dismiss the question by explaining that contraception was not what he was on « concentrate » right now. This response caused the American press to react, according to which the curator would suggest an upcoming modification on this subject. For good reason, the governor recalled on several occasions that, according to him, life « starts from the design« .
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Without criminalizing the pregnant person or prohibiting access to the contraceptive pill for the moment, the State of Texas is also pursuing anti-abortion initiatives. In this state where abortion is already restricted, the objective is to make this procedure “unthinkable“said a Republican elected representative of the Texas House of Representatives. In fact, if the 1973 judgment is reversed, the state has already planned to put in place a ban on complicity as well as a ban on medical abortion by mail order. In short, everything to dissuade people from benefiting from the pro-abortion laws of neighboring states, the only way out for Texan women who wanted to have an abortion.
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