For the first time in nine years, the Supreme Court will rule on a case that could spell the end of safe and legal abortions in this country.
Ever since the landmark case of Roe v. Wade in 1973, Republican anti-choicers have worked to restrict and eliminate the rights guaranteed by the Supreme Court ruling. This particular case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, centers around a piece of legislation passed in Texas which sets forth unrealistic and exorbitant regulations for abortion clinics. Before the legislation, there were 41 clinics. After the law went into effect, that number shrank to 18. If the supreme court rules to uphold the controversial law, the number of abortion clinics in Texas could fall as low as 10.
If one looks at the abortion-related rulings by the supreme court since Roe v. Wade, the outlook is bleak for women’s reproductive rights. Three abortion cases have been ruled on, with each one restricting women’s access more and more. The 1992 case opened the door for the current law in Texas by allowing states to create abortion restrictions rather than setting national standards, with the caveat that any restriction must not put an “undue burden” on abortion access.
It is the “undue burden” clause in the ruling which gives legitimacy to the new case being brought forward. A win in this case would be a reaffirmation that this country supports a woman’s right to choose and is against the bigoted and biased application of legislation in order to further personal political opinion.
Read more at Mother Jones “The Supreme Court Just Agreed to Hear a Case that Could Destroy Roe v. Wade.”
