The upcoming midterm elections in the USA have gotten a new hot topic overnight: the right to abortions. After the Supreme Court upheld the leak, protests spread across the country.
The United States is on alert. Protests have erupted across the country since a leaked Supreme Court bill announced the end of abortion rights. The news portal “political” had published a majority draft of the Supreme Court on Monday evening, which in the 1973 landmark judgment “Roe v. Wade’ would repeal abortion rights. As a result, thousands of people took to the streets in Washington, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Seattle for and against the proposed sentence.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the disputed document, but stressed that the decision was not final. But the topic has long since caught fire at the political level. Around six months before the decisive midterm elections, both sides are trying to take advantage of the tense atmosphere in the population. While Republicans are buoyed by the arch-conservative ruling and are tackling the expansion of restrictive abortion laws, Democrats are hoping to mobilize as many voters as possible to protect women’s rights.
Republicans plan ‘post-Roe era’ – new abortion laws on the way
For the Republicans, the news about the planned end of “Roe v. Wade” comes at exactly the right time. Without the protective hand of the Supreme Court, states would be free to impose their own restrictions or protections on abortion rights. Some Republican governors were quick to announce plans Tuesday to further tighten laws in their states — or outright ban abortion — once the final Supreme Court ruling is in the next two months.
The governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, signed a similarly strict “heartbeat law” as in Texas and wrote on Twitter on the grounds that the four million people in his state are overwhelmingly in favor of protecting unborn life. The controversial rule bans abortions as soon as the heartbeat of a fetus can be detected. This can be after around six weeks, when some women do not even know they are pregnant.
From Indonesia to Latin America, women around the world are fighting for their rights
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The “red” states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin already have stricter abortion laws in the starting blocks. In Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp advocated a similar “heartbeat law” ahead of the primary. “We are the voice of all those people who are out there and have been doing this in the trenches for decades, and we’re glad to be fighting with them,” Kemp said in a radio interview. In South Dakota, Governor and Republican Kristi Noem announced that she would convene a special session to ban abortion in her state. Should “Roe v. Wade” fall, want an analysis of the “Guttmacher InstituteAccording to the report, at least 26 US states have introduced sweeping bans on abortion.
Momentum for blue: Democrats want to mobilize voters
A wave of outrage has been rolling through the democratic camp since Monday evening. US Vice President Kamala Harris found particularly clear words. “How dare they try to deny women their rights and freedoms,” she said – and demanded: “Let’s fight with everything we have!” US President Joe Biden announced that he would personally work to ensure that a nationwide law protecting abortion rights would be “passed and signed”. But without resolving the controversial “filibuster rule,” his Senate Democrats don’t seem likely to get a majority for such a law.
Instead, many Democrats are pinning their hopes that the news, which has hit the country like a smash, will mobilize more people for the upcoming November elections. Especially those who have taken abortion rights for granted and those who are disappointed with the Biden administration’s past policies and had no intention of going to the polls. “People were worried about voters’ lack of energy in the midterms and that they wouldn’t come out and vote – now the Supreme Court just gave us a reason for people to vote,” said Democratic Rep. Susan Wild .
The Democrats have a lot of convincing to do
“We will fight back with everything we have to ensure that Republicans must account for their party’s relentless attacks, but we cannot do this without you,” the Democratic Party said in an official email to its supporters: Inside.
But the Democrats have a lot of convincing to do. Many so-called “independent voters” have long since turned their backs on President Biden and also in formerly “blue strongholds” difficulties arise. That’s why some policymakers are already warning that even something like the historic overthrow of abortion rights doesn’t necessarily pave the way for the Democratic Party. “The current consensus is that this will help Democrats because it will boost turnout, but it could certainly boost turnout for grassroots Republicans as well,” said Glen Bolger, a Republican strategist. “In general, most voters are concentrating on the economy, for example, and inflation is of course dominating that at the moment.”
However, the fact that the majority of Americans, according to surveys, are resolutely opposed to overturning the landmark “Roe v. Wade” judgment speaks in favor of the “blue swing”. According to a recent Poll by “Washington Post” and “ABC” 54 percent of those polled say they want abortion rights to be preserved, while only 28 percent think they should be rescinded.
Protests spread across the US
Meanwhile, anger and dismay at the leaked Supreme Court ruling has sparked protests across the country. In cities like Washington, New York, Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco and Seattle, thousands of people took to the streets for abortion rights. Battle cries of “My body, my choice” and “It’s time to get up” echoed through the crowd. Numerous posters read “Never again”, “Misogyny kills more people than abortion” and “Stop the war on women”.
At a rally in Manhattan, New York Attorney General Letitia James made headlines by revealing that she herself had an abortion around 20 years ago. In Los Angeles, after initially peaceful demonstrations, clashes with the police broke out late Tuesday evening. One officer was injured, it said. According to media reports, the police officers used batons against some demonstrators. Overall, however, the protests remained peaceful.
And there is much to suggest that they will not tear off anytime soon. “In the past I would have said that they would never take away the right to contraception. But I don’t believe that anymore,” puts the Democrat Susan Wild’s finger in the wound.
For poorer women and minorities in particular, the end of “Roe v. Wade” would be a catastrophe. While many are likely to travel to a more liberal state to have an abortion, there is growing concern about what will happen to those who cannot afford it. Because abortions are unlikely to be fewer in a “post-Roe America” - but instead more dangerous.
Sources: “NYTimes“, “political“, “Washington Post“, “CNN“, with AFP footage