A leaked Supreme Court draft ruling shows that the USA is set to end 50 years of a woman’s right to choose. It is illegal for women to terminate their pregnancies in any circumstance in 24 countries, with a further 37 restricting access in any case except when the mother’s life is in danger. As a leaked document signals, the US Supreme Court is poised to strike down the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v Wade, millions of American women face losing their access to legal abortions, joining millions more living in those countries rejecting a woman’s right to choose. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), unsafe abortions kill more than 47,000 people every year, with five million hospitalised for complications such as postnatal bleeding or infection. WHO data also shows that banning abortions has little or no effect on abortion rates throughout the world.
What does this mean?
The ruling would curb access to safe terminations in many areas across the country, leaving states to set their own restrictions if they so choose. In at least 13 states, abortion would immediately become illegal. Planned Parenthood, the leading US reproductive rights group, has said the leaked decision would give states clearance to ban abortions even in the case of rape or incest, a proposition most Americans believe is too extreme.
Supporters vs opponents
Within hours of the news, anti-abortion activists chanting "hey, hey, ho, ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go" and abortion rights supporters shouting "abortion is healthcare" were facing off outside the court. The two groups chanted and waved placards in the plaza in front of the steps to the Supreme Court, with barriers and a few uniformed police officers barring access to the colonnaded building.
Worldwide Outrage
As the news spread on social media, the outrage against the 'proposed' decision grew and thousands reacted fiercely. Many women ever since have taken to Twitter to share their abortion stories in order to "destigmatise" the practice.