The United States Supreme Court in Washington DC recently had an opinion vote leaked by the journalism site Politico. The draft vote was over the potential of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe V Wade Supreme Court decision, which had codified the right of Abortion for women in the United States. The case was controversial at the time of the vote, and is still controversial today, which has recently become prevalent. This is due to the fact that said Politico-leaked vote contained the information that a simple majority of Supreme Court Justices (which is needed for overturning a decision), had personally stated they were in support of overturning the decision in the leaked draft vote. When the news leaked, controversies and protests began outside the Supreme Court, with large fences being placed up to keep crowds from reaching the building’s exterior, and the Supreme Court building itself was closed to the public until “Further Notice” due to “concern for the health and safety of the public and Supreme Court employees”, which was announced via the Supreme Courts government website. The Supreme Court did confirm the authenticity of the leaked bill, and stressed the fact that this was not the final vote on Roe V Wade, and that it was still under heavy debate. However, Politico has not made any prevalent statements relating to how they obtained the leaked information as of time of writing.
“Pro-Choice” supporters outside of the US Supreme court in the late evening, after the Draft Opinion was leaked (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)
In response to the leaked Draft Vote, several US Senators (many of whom were with the Democratic party) had pushed a bill onto the floor of the Senate that would be a direct response to the overturning of Roe V Wade, should it occur. The bill would provide protections to Womens right to Abortion across the country. However, the Bill failed to pass with only 49 votes out of the 60 needed for the Bill to pass the Senate floor and on to the President. This was mostly due to strong Republican opposition in the Senate to the Bill, as the Democrats held a very slim majority over the Senate, and did not have a majority in the House of Representatives. Additionally, there have also been reports of protesters gathering outside the homes of Supreme Court Justices, with major examples being vigils held outside of Justice Brett Kavanaughs’ private residence. Politicians have mostly defended the protests, as they have not become violent or have started endangering the health of the Justices which preside over the current Supreme Court bracket. If the overturn of Roe V Wade occurs, it is likely that many states which are dominated by Republican leadership will likely institute laws banning the practice of Abortion (in cases not involving Incest, Rape or danger to the Mothers health).
SOURCES
https://www.supremecourt.gov/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/11/politics/senate-abortion-rights-vote-roe-v-wade/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/02/politics/roe-v-wade-supreme-court/index.html
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