The United States Supreme Court has voted to eliminate the almost 50-year-old constitutional right to choose abortion, setting the path for half of the country to severely restrict or outright prohibit the practise.
The power to decide on abortion rights for tens of millions of women will now be delegated to the 50 states.
It is one of the most significant verdicts by the Supreme Court, America’s top court, in recent history.
At least 25 states are prepared to enact new legislation or revive dormant regulations that will make abortion illegal in many scenarios, even in those cases when conception originated from rape or incest.
Many of the states are in the country’s south. Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi are three of 13 states that have enacted “trigger bans,” which indicate abortion will be prohibited immediately or in the coming days and weeks.
The judgement, written by Justice Samuel Alito, overturns the historic 1973 decision known as “Roe versus Wade,” which legalised abortion nationwide up to the period of foetal viability, which is usually regarded to be around 24 weeks into pregnancy.
A following 1992 judgement, known as “Planned Parenthood versus Casey,” essentially upheld that right, but this is the death knell for reproductive rights protections.
Pro-choice groups, who think abortion should be recognised as normal healthcare and a human right, say the loss of the constitutional right to abortion will create so called “abortion deserts” forcing women to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to terminate unwanted pregnancies.
The new ruling comes from the state of Mississippi, which was attempting to pass legislation that would prohibit abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which is substantially earlier than the point of foetal viability.
In May, a draught ruling was disclosed on the US political website Politico, indicating that the court was prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade. This was a surprising and unprecedented leak.
It sparked considerable outrage across the country and revived debate between pro-life and pro-choice activists.
Now that the verdict has been confirmed, political tensions are likely to rise again.
Many court observers feel the decision was made because the Supreme Court has shifted to the right, with six conservative justices outnumbering their three more liberal colleagues, including three chosen by former President Donald Trump.
While abortion is one of the most contentious subjects in America, polls show that the majority of Americans reject overturning Roe.
Gallup conducted a study earlier this month and discovered that 55% of Americans identify as “pro-choice.”
