Supreme Court to Overturn Roe v. Wade?

by Stephen Lendman

According to Politico on Monday:

"The Supreme Court (already) voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and obtained by" the publication.

More on what's apparently coming below.

On January 22, 1973 by a 7 - 2 majority, the Warren Berger Supreme Court made Roe v. Wade the law of the land.

Writing for the majority, Justice Harry Blackmun said the following:

"(T)he attending physician, in consultation with his patient, is free to determine, without regulation by the state, that, in his medical judgment, the patient's pregnancy should be terminated."

Majority justices cited the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments that protect an individual's "zones of privacy."

They're "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy."

Nearly half a century ago, the US Supreme Court included the following justices, along with Chief Justice Berger:

William O. Douglas

William J. Brennan Jr.

Potter Stewart 

Byron White

Thurgood Marshall 

Harry Blackmun

Lewis F. Powell Jr. 

William Rehnquist

White and Rehnquist alone voted against Roe v. Wade.

No current High Court justices approach the stature of Marshall, Brennan and Douglas.

Michael Parenti earlier called the Supreme Court the "autocratic branch" of government.

Appointed for life, justices have great power for good or ill.

Most often they support power and privilege over the general welfare, including what benefits corporate America.

Throughout US history, most justices comprised "the activist bastion of laissez-faire capitalism," Parenti explained.

White House and public pressure alone got most justices to accept New Deal legislation.

Post-1960s courts reverted to form:

Along with making it harder to prove discrimination, they weakened Miranda rights, diluted Roe v. Wade, weakened unreasonable searches and seizures, and turned a blind eye to illegal surveillance.

In 1976, they reinstated barbaric capital punishment.

They largely support economic inequality, granted more executive power to the president, and sided with business against labor and victims of corporate malfeasance.

And now, Roe v. Wade's demise approaches.

Writing for the Court's majority, Politico quoted Alito, saying:

"Roe was egregiously wrong from the start (sic)."

"Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences (sic)."

"And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey enflamed debate and deepened divisions."

"We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled (sic)." 

"It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives (sic)."

"(A) right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the nation's history and traditions."

In the 1992 Casey ruling, Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy and Davis Souter warned that the court would pay a "terrible price" if overruled Roe, adding:

"An entire generation has come of age free to assume Roe's concept of liberty in defining the capacity of women to act in society, and to make reproductive decisions; no erosion of principle going to liberty or personal autonomy has left Roe's central holding a doctrinal remnant."

For the first time, a draft High Court Ruling was disclosed before officially announced.

Reportedly, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett voted with Alito to overturn Roe.

Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented.

At this time, it's unclear which side Chief Justice Roberts supports.

Politico said it "received a copy of the draft opinion," adding:

Advance disclosure "comes as all sides in the abortion debate are girding for the ruling."

The draft Politico received may be amended before officially made public.

While highly unlikely, one or more justices might change his or her vote.

In their current term begun last October, final arguments were heard last week.

According to its website:

"In May and June, the Court sits only to announce orders and opinions." 

"The Court recesses at the end of June."

A Final Comment

On Tuesday, the Center for Public Integrity said the following:

"The US Supreme Court drafted a majority opinion that would reverse 50 years of reproductive rights protections and overturn Roe v. Wade, Politico reported last night."

"It will trigger immediate bans on abortion in 22 states, forcing women to carry a pregnancy and give birth with no exception even for rape and incest in many places." 

"Those affected would represent 42% of women of child-bearing age in the US."

The draft opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, also challenges the constitutionality of decisions that guaranteed the right to contraception, same-sex relationships and same-sex marriage…"

It "open(s) the door for individual states to determine who is allowed fundamental human rights in our country." 

"That includes individual states where women are being arrested for having a miscarriage."

"Math textbooks are being banned for including multicultural references, and teachers are being investigated for talking about the country's history of segregation."

A darker time than already will follow the expected Court ruling on Roe — reversing what's been the law of the land for nearly half a century.