What happens after Rov v Wade is overturned.
We don’t know for certain whether Roe v Wade will be overturned, or Dobbs will be accepted but maybe Roe survives. It is looking like that Roe is overturned but we won’t know for certain until the final decision is released. What will happen if Roe is overturned? The answer is simple, abortion will be still legal, but states will have the right to restrict it or even expand the right to have an abortion.
Many Democratic controlled states may even go more radical, similar to recent proposal from Schumer to allow abortions in all nine months with no restrictions. Redstate Jeff Charles noted, “Those who wish to obtain abortions will still be able to do so, but it will not be as readily available as it is now. Many will need to travel to other states to get the procedure. Still, others will seek out other means to terminate their children. The Atlantic reported that pro-abortion activists are experimenting with a device that would still allow mothers to abort their children on their own, or with another person’s help. Instead of visiting an abortion clinic, this instrument would help them do it themselves.”
When you read the draft, Alito makes it clear that his reasoning on Roe doesn’t translate to other issues including gay rights. Jeff Charles added, “However, it does not seem likely that Republicans will be going after gay marriage anytime soon – if ever. Indeed, a survey revealed that in 2019, 51 percent of conservatives said they backed same-sex marriage. Sure, that’s not a huge majority, but it is pretty clear that even the ones who are not for gay marriage aren’t passionate enough about the issue to push politicians to reverse Obergefell v. Hodges…But that’s not all. In 2021, a Gallup poll also showed that support for same-sex marriage has grown among conservatives. From the report…Republicans, who have consistently been the party group least in favor of same-sex marriage, show majority support in 2021 for the first time (55%). The latest increase in support among all Americans is driven largely by changes in Republicans’ views...There you have it. Republicans, by and large, are not concerned with killing gay marriage, and there is absolutely no evidence of a concerted effort to take action against it, regardless of whatever personal beliefs conservatives hold.”
If there is a slippery slope, it exists on the pro-abortion side since we are seeing a movement that has moved to a more radical position, no limitation on abortions and slipping into infanticide. Senator Ben Sasse proposed a bill to force doctors to give the medical care to babies who survive an abortion and the pro-abortion lobby and Democrats opposed even this. This is support for infanticide. Former Virginia governor Ralph Northam have even gone as far as infanticide as he told one radio interview, ““If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that is what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” This is the definition of infanticide.
As for the Dobbs decision, the Mississippi law still allows 90 percent of abortions in the state, but it is a law that has support of the majority of Americans. Americas Majority Foundation, which I work with, asked voters if: All abortions should be restricted with no exceptions; Abortions should be restricted beginning in the first trimester with exceptions for saving the life of the mother or in a case of rape or incest; Abortions should be restricted beginning in the second trimester with exceptions for saving the life of the mother or in a case of rape or incest; or abortions should be allowed in all cases. In the Cyngal survey, voters agreed with pro- life position of no abortions allowed or abortions should restricted in the first trimester 44.5% compared to voters agreeing with pro-choice of restricting beginning in the second trimester and no restrictions 50% of the time. 46% of pro-choice do believe that there is no unlimited right to abortion as they were willing to restrict abortions in the second trimester. 68% of voters believe that abortions should be restricted including many pro-choice advocates. In the Voice Broadcasting poll, 22% of voters favored prohibition on abortions, 38% favored restricting abortions beginning in the first trimester while 18% favored restricting abortions in the second trimester and only 21% of voters believed in allowing abortions in all cases. What is obvious is that the vast majority of Americans do not believe in a unlimited right of abortions and 52% to 56% of voters believe in restricting abortions but allowing exceptions but the only debate is do you restrict abortions in the first trimesters or begin in the second trimester? In the Evolving Strategy survey, 55% of voters believe in banning abortions after 20 weeks. While many Americans are divided on this issue, they are not divided on the need to restrict abortions, the only question is where does the right of the child to live trump the right of the mother to abort?
This survey matches what others have seen. From the leftist 538, “But Americans’ views on abortion are hardly clear-cut. Majorities also support a variety of restrictions on abortion — including limits on abortion in the second trimester — that openly conflict with the Supreme Court’s rulings. For example, a 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 69 percent of Americans favored laws requiring abortions to be performed only by doctors who had admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, even though the court ruled in 2016 that those laws place an unconstitutional burden on women’s right to abortion.”
Gallup has shown that the number of Americas who view themselves as Pro-life is not much different than those who view themselves as Pro-choice as 47% view themselves as Pro-life versus 49% as Pro-choice.
As Alito discusses in his draft, nearly a third of states have already liberalize laws by 1972 and the movement toward legalization and liberalization of abortion laws was abrogated in midstream and many Americans felt their right to decide the right of the unborn annulled and democracy short circuited. For many Americans, there are two lives involved and the question can we protect the unborn and when does the mother have the right to terminate pregnancy and when does the baby have a right to life? Americans may believe that the majority of abortions should be legal but they don’t believe in a unlimited right to an abortion.
Returning this back to the states allows Americans to deal with these issues.