by Hailey Lau
The recently leaked documents concerning the Supreme Court’s opinion on overturning Roe v. Wade has caused controversy among Americans as their rights to abortion may be restricted if the draft is the Court’s final opinion.
These documents were confirmed as authentic by the Court on Tuesday, May 3rd — which has the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade and taking away free and easy access to Planned Parenthood across America. Behind this controversy is a history of conflict between political parties on the issue of abortion.
After the leak, many Americans stood up and protested against the draft decision all over the country. As Republicans fought for the law to be overturned, Democrats tried to reverse the predicament. The Senate met for the first time on May 11th to discuss the future of abortion rights as Democrats presented a bill to codify abortion laws in order to preserve the right to choose.
In the Senate, the bill was blocked with a vote of 49-51 and was split between party lines. The move was largely performative since Democrats knew that the legislation wouldn’t have passed since the Senate needed at least 60 votes, therefore they used the bill to message to their base in hopes of it aiding them in the upcoming election cycle.
Democratic political leaders are advocating to save Roe v. Wade through endorsements and creating laws within states to protect abortion rights if Roe gets overturned. The general public has also taken a stand against the overturning of Roe through protests around the country.
In NYC public high schools, students led a protest throughout Manhattan in response to the Senate vote and to spread awareness about abortion rights. The future of Roe v. Wade is unknown until the Supreme Court releases its final decision, but the issue of abortion will be at the forefront of American politics and will without a doubt be a hot-button topic in the 2022 midterm elections.
Photos from: TIME, Guardian, NY Times, BBC
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