Politics, Law and Abortion in the U.S

By Chido Nwangwu writes that a new round of heated debate is about to begin on the abortion laws in America

 “Yesterday, a news organization published a copy of a draft opinion in a pending case,” were the affirmative words of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, John Roberts.

The yesterday he referred to is Monday May 2, 2022; and the news organization is Politico. Being the first news platform to publish that unprecedented disclosure of the apex court’s contemplations and considerations, Politico, literally, catapulted its emerging clout and web traffic to the stratosphere. 

The issue is the contentious and divisive abortion matter; specifically the indication of the draft that the Supreme Court is leaning toward overturning  the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade. The draft opinion calls the Roe v Wade decision which favors the right to abortion “egregiously wrong from the start…. We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Justice Samuel Alito stated  in the draft document, titled the “Opinion of the Court.”He added in the draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

Justice Roberts confirmed that the leak was accurate. He noted that “Justices circulate draft opinions internally as a routine and essential part of the Court’s confidential deliberative work. Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”

In America, the politics and propaganda which follow the perennially controversial abortion issue are too many. There are mainly two camps. 
First, the groups which support what they consider to be “a woman’s right to choose” abortion. Democratic party activists and its leading members, including President Joe Biden, champion this position. 

Second, for those who oppose Roe v Wade, it is a rallying cry and call to a moral duty to protect “the unborn child and uphold the sanctity of life.” Republican party activists and its leading members, including former President Donald Trump, champion this side of the argument. 

The issue of abortion remains deeply contentious as it has been before and since 1973 ruling by the Supreme Court — no matter the side of the fence you may belong! The nine-member court, currently, is dominated by conservative jurists. It is important to note that three of the justices were nominated by Trump.

On the impact of the leak, Politico’s reporter Josh Gerstein assessed it this way: “No draft decision in the modern history of the court has been disclosed publicly while a case was still pending. The unprecedented revelation is bound to intensify the debate over what was already the most controversial case on the docket this term.” 

On his part, Justice Roberts stated that “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way. We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce – permanent employees and law clerks alike – intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law.

Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here.I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.”

Overall, I do know that there are several privacy rights of choice and moral positions on the abortion issue which will continue to clash. It’s a dominant cultural ideological ratios flashpoint Americans  move out of wok and roll still want to cross the entire world. Regardless of what the Supreme Court says!

*Dr. Nwangwu serves as Founder and Publisher of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com