In one judicial swipe, the United States fell back into the dark ages, as Roe v Wade overturned the outcry was global, and the impact; was on women’s rights in America.
The shocking ruling from America’s highest court to overturn Roe v Wade – a constitutional right to an abortion in the US has sparked a variety of headlines from the US and international media.
“How media frames the changes, legally and culturally it will be watched by both sides”
The United States’ political and judicial systems are not independent, with appointments made on political merit. So it is no surprise that when Roe v Wade overturned it was backed by the political lobby groups.
The US Lobby groups dominate the political spectrum. Guns, Tabacco, Oil and abortion are closely linked together as their power base comes from the Red republican states.
To provide context we have provided a briefing of the landmark case Roe v Wade below.
Roe v Wade overturned
The judicial system in America is based on Laws and Precedents. Precedents are past cases where Judges have rules on issues that other courts (often lower) follow unless they have very specific legal ground to overturn them.
A landmark legal ruling in 1973 – referred to as the Roe v Wade case, made abortions legal in the United States. This prevented women in America from being prosecuted if they carried out abortions.
In a very general way, the southern Republican-dominated states are in favour of banning abortion rights, due to the high concentration of Christian and Jewish values in the region.
Most of the Democratic-dominated states would prefer to be ‘pro-choice’ to allow women the right to choose.
Last week, the US Supreme Court overturned that case, thus taking the right away from women.
Twenty-six conservative states will ban abortion
As a result, twenty-six conservative states are very likely to introduce new abortion restrictions or ban abortions altogether in those states.
Thirteen states have already passed so-called trigger laws that will automatically ban abortions following the ruling.
There are nine judges on the Supreme Court – six of whom were appointed by Republican presidents.
A draft opinion from Judge Samuel Alito was leaked in May 2022. It contained the comment that Roe v Wade judgement is “egregiously wrong”.
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US media coverage
In the US, “CNN, MSNBC and ABC are continuing to voice their outrage at the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, with liberal pundits and guests engaging in highly politicized rhetoric in the days since the ruling,” says FOX News.
“How the media frames the changes, legally and culturally, coming to the U.S. due to the Supreme Court’s decision will be watched closely by both sides of the aisle.”
US media is clear in its political allegiance on this topic – with left-leaning Democratic supporting media expressing sorrow, regret and fear of what’s to come whilst the right-leaning Republican-dominated states see the overturning of Roe v Wade as a ‘pro-life’ victory.
Global outcry
Roe v Wade overturned immediately started trending on Twitter, the outrage was global.
Thousands of women globally voiced their disgust at the reversal of what most women believe, is a right for women to choose and not something that should be dedicated to by men in the supreme court.
What was Roe v Wade about?
In 1969, a 25-year-old single woman, Norma McCorvey using the pseudonym “Jane Roe”, challenged the criminal abortion laws in Texas. The state forbade abortion as unconstitutional, except in cases where the mother’s life was in danger.
Defending the anti-abortion law was Henry Wade – the district attorney for Dallas County – hence Roe v Wade.
Republican-dominated states
Ms McCorvey was pregnant with her third child when she filed the case, and claimed that she had been raped. But the case was rejected and she was forced to give birth.
In 1973 her appeal made it to the US Supreme Court, where her case was heard alongside that of a 20-year-old Georgia woman, Sandra Bensing.
They argued that abortion laws in Texas and Georgia went against the US Constitution because they infringed a woman’s right to privacy.
By a vote of seven to two, the court justices ruled that governments lacked the power to prohibit abortions.
They judged that a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy was protected by the US constitution. – (BBC America)
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Roe v. Wade outrage highlights the growing rift between the American people and their highest court
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Supreme Court abortion decision sparks liberal media meltdown. Here are the greatest hits
Roe v Wade – The future of US abortion laws and what overturning them would mean
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