US Supreme Court
Abortion and Capitol attack: Two rulings that Trump supporters will be watching closely
A turning point in US history: On January 6, 2021, supporters of then US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in Washington.
© Miguel Juarez Lugo / DPA
The US Supreme Court is weighing two different and important cases: the attack on the US Congress and access to an abortion pill. Both rulings have an impact on already divided US society.
The US Supreme Court is considering a case about the storming of the US Capitol, which also has significant implications for an indictment against the former president Donald Trump could have. The Supreme Court in Washington has now announced that it will take up the matter. Specifically, it is about reviewing an appeal ruling on an indictment against several rioters who were involved in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. You are accused of obstructing an official proceeding. This is also one of the charges against Trump in the election fraud trial in Washington. The Supreme Court is now examining, among other things, the admissibility of this charge.
Capitol storming verdict is expected in March
The decision could affect not only the charges against Trump, but also hundreds of other charges related to the Capitol attack. Trump supporters stormed the parliament building in Washington on January 6, 2021. Congress met there to formally confirm Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. Trump had previously incited his supporters during a speech. As a result of the riots, five people died. A ruling from the Supreme Court is not expected until the middle of next year.
The Supreme Court also announced that it would consider an important case regarding abortion rights in the USA. This concerns access restrictions for the abortion pill mifepristone, which an appeals court imposed in mid-August. They have not yet come into force because the legal dispute continues. The appeals court ruled that certain access relief measures issued by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016 should be revoked. These include sending the pill by post and taking it without a medical professional. The drug’s distributor and the government of US President Joe Biden have lodged an appeal.
Abortion opponents sue against mifepristone
Mifepristone was approved in the United States in 2000 and is commonly used with the drug misoprostol for abortion. Since the nationwide right to abortion was overturned and so that the parliaments in the US states could regulate by law whether abortions are permitted, mifepristone has gained in importance. Abortion opponents have therefore sued the US state of Texas against the approval of mifepristone. They want to make access to medical abortion more difficult. The religious right and large parts of the Republican Party in particular have been trying to restrict the right to abortion in the USA for decades.