Leaked draft from Supreme Court could signal end for Roe v. Wade precedent
The online news outlet Politico broke the news of a leaked draft May 5 in which the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
The initial draft, dated Feb. 10, 2022, was written by Justice Samuel Alito and refers to the opinion of the court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which asks to eliminate the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v Wade.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, state legislators will be in charge of their own state’s policies on abortion. Currently, 13 states across the country (Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming) have “trigger laws” in place, which would ban abortion as soon as Roe v. Wade is no longer in effect. Other states have pre-Roe v. Wade bans and strict limitations on abortion that are still in place that will once again go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
While the court's decision is not final yet, the leaked draft has already sparked numerous protests all over the country, including outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
This is a developing story. Follow The Panther on social media and at www.thepanthernewspaper.org for updates.