Abortion consumes US politics, courts two years after SCOTUS draft leak

Two years after a leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion indicated that the country Abortion scene Although it was on the verge of a major shift, the issue continues to preoccupy the nation’s courts, legislatures, and political campaigns — and change the course of lives.

On Wednesday, a ban will be imposed on abortion after the first six weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman even realizes she is pregnant. It went into effect in Florida, echoing laws in two other states. In Arizona, meanwhile, Lawmakers voted to repeal A sweeping ban on abortion dates back to 1864, decades before Arizona became a state — and the governor signed it the next day. Also this week, the Kansas Legislature Increase funding for anti-abortion centerswhile lawyers in South Dakota submitted the required number of signatures Ballot measure Enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

The abortion situation in states across the country has constantly changed, as lawmakers passed measures and courts ruled on challenges to them. Currently, 14 states have bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. Meanwhile, most Democratic-led states have taken steps to maintain or expand access.

David Cohen, a professor at Thomas R. “Some of them are exactly what we knew would happen, and some of them were big surprises that put, frankly, the anti-abortion opposition in jeopardy,” Dr. Klein Law School at Drexel University, who studies abortion policy, said. “The abortion movement is on their heels.”

Although more than 20 states have begun imposing abortion bans to varying degrees since 2008 supreme court Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, I found studies The number of monthly abortions nationally is about the same — or higher — than it was before the ruling. When asked to comment on this emotional debate, voters have supported the position favored by abortion rights advocates on all seven statewide ballot measures since then.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Women’s Health Organization Dobbs v. Jackson was officially released on June 24, 2022, overturning nearly 50 years of abortion legality nationwide. But the world caught a glimpse of it about six weeks ago, on May 2, afterward One media outlet published a leaked draft.

“With the Dobbs decision, it is now possible to adhere to the will of the people,” said Stephen Bailey, vice president of state affairs for Susan B. Anthony Pro Life America. He said abortion rights supporters have sought to create uncertainty about laws he says are clear — especially with assertions that the ban prevents abortion in medical emergencies: “They’ve tried to sow the seeds of political division just to further their political agenda.”

At the time Politico published the leaked draft, Amanda Zurawski was undergoing fertility treatment and was about two weeks away from finally finding out she was pregnant.

The woman in Austin, Texas, had always supported abortion rights, and was angry that the right to abortion was about to disappear. But she did not expect a direct impact on her life.

That changed months later when she was denied an abortion though Premature rupture of membranesWhich may lead to serious internal bleeding. Days later, she was diagnosed with sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to the infection. Her daughter, Willow, was eventually aborted, but Zurawski nearly died in the process due to the delay.

I came out of the experience energized.

“I thought I would be a new mother to a newborn baby,” she said in an interview. “Instead, I was in Tallahassee, Florida, to meet with the vice president.”

Zurawski was a plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to clarify abortion law in Texas and has spoken about her experience before Congress and across the country. She recently left her tech job to spend the next few months supporting abortion rights and President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

“I’m definitely someone who wants to fight for justice,” she said. “That’s not the way I would have guessed.”

Zurawski’s widely publicized experience is a reflection of the central role abortion has played on the political stage during this highly charged election year.

In Arizona, one of the few states that will decide the next president, the state Supreme Court ruled last month that a near-total ban on abortion passed in 1864 can be implemented now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. That decision ultimately led to a repeal proposal that passed the House last week and the Senate on Wednesday after acrimonious debate. Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, signed the repeal on Thursday. However, the 1864 law is still expected to remain in effect for some time.

Florida, Maryland and New York will take ballot measures in November to protect abortion access.

“Women will be put in the impossible position of not having access to health care, whether it’s an emergency or just family planning,” said Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried. “Floridians will have the opportunity to take back control.”

Susan B. Anthony’s Bailey said his group was focused on defeating ballot questions in Florida and other states where passage would overturn the ban now in place.

Arizona is one of the At least eight states With an impetus to take similar action. Some states are also calling for measures to enshrine the ban in the state constitution.

This issue also weighs heavily in the presidential elections.

President Joe Biden criticized his potential opponent, former President Donald Trump, for appointing Supreme Court justices who influenced the Roe v. Wade decision. Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Florida on Wednesday to denounce the six-week ban passed in the country’s third-most populous state.

Trump, who said in April that he believed abortion laws should be decided by states, went further this week, telling Time magazine that states should also be able to sue. Women who request an abortion. Proposals to do this Didn’t pick up steam In any state legislatures so far.

___

This story has been edited to clarify that Stephen Bailey says abortion rights supporters sought to create uncertainty about the laws, not that they sought to amplify the uncertainty contained in the laws.