Subscribe!
SCOTUS decision: “Authority to regulate abortion returned to the people”, overturns Roe v. Wade
The US Supreme Court, at a few moments past 10am on Friday, June 24, 2022, issued their decision to reverse Roe v. Wade. This decision returns the issue of legality of abortion to the states to decide. The dissenting opinion was written as one for all dissenting judges.
For some states (13) this will have immediate impact, and several states have already canceled procedures scheduled for the end of the day Friday and going forward. Those states have anticipated this decision and have a series of workarounds in place – such as having women travel to nearby states where abortion is legal. For others, such as Rhode Island, which have codified a woman’s right to an abortion, rights are upheld.
The decision notes that the Supreme Court was incorrect in hearing the case of Roe v. Wade in the first place as there is nothing in the Constitution that speaks to abortion. That reasoning could be used to overturn other issues going forward, if met with a challenge. Justice Ginsburg had written that she agreed the court should not have heard this case and it may result in a decision that we are seeing today if it were ever considered again, while maintaining her strong support for a woman’s right to a legal abortion in America.
Last night saw protests throughout the country, including one in Providence at the Rhode Island State House. Several people captured footage of an altercation between a legislator and her opponent. Jennifer Rourke, a member of the RI Political Cooperative, a progressive group, said she was punched in the face twice by her Senate race opponent, Jeann Lugo. Lugo claims Rourke was physical with him, which Rourke denies while not saying there wasn’t an altercation. Late last night, Lugo filed a police report. Rourke said to a Providence Journal reporter, “I’m not going to deny. It was very chaotic, so I can’t really tell you right now. Everything happened very fast.” Video below from Boston Globe Twitter account:
Other than this brief altercation, which the RI State Police handled quickly and without escalation, the group was estimated to have grown to about 1,000 and was peaceful.
To read the full decision:
| Held: The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives. |
How abortion will be treated – now that the Supreme Court ruled…
To read the full decision: