US Supreme Court overturns landmark abortion rights’ 1973 ruling

US president says sad day for court and country

Picture source - AP (Jacquelyn Martin)

The United States Supreme Court on Friday overturned the landmark 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to abortion by a 5-4 ruling.

US President Joe Biden has condemned the decision by calling it a sad day for the court and the country. He said that the court did what it had never done before.

He said that it would affect the life of millions of American women.

The Reuters has reported that the US Supreme Court has upheld Republican-backed Mississippi law banning abortion 15 weeks after pregnancy. Justice Samuel Alito has written in the ruling that the Roe decision, allowing abortions before 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy, was decided wrongly because there was no specific mention of abortion rights in the US Constitution.

The ruling has restored banning abortion ability of states. Twenty-six states are in favor of abortion whereas 13 states are in favor of overturning the decision.

Following the ruling, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas called for reconsideration of rulings pertaining to contraception, legalizing gay-marriage and laws regarding gay sex.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh has remarked that the constitution had neither outlawed abortion nor it legalized it, as anti-abortion advocates have said that the next step would be a declaration that the constitution outlawed abortion.

However, women with unwanted pregnancies will have to travel to other states where abortion would be legal.

UK, France, New Zealand and some other nations have called the ruling backward. Many US companies including META.O, AT & T and Walt Disney have announced a cover of expenses if required by employees for travelling to other states.