Abortion ban expands across US after landmark Supreme Court decision

Anti-abortion laws go into effect this Thursday in three other US states, further limiting access to voluntary abortions two months after the historic decision Supreme Court revoke this right.

According to The Washington Post, 21 million women are currently banned or severely restricted from having abortion in 13 states.

Tennessee, Texas as well as Idahoruled by the Republicans joined a dozen states that also enforced pre-Supreme Court laws that still haven’t.

The Supreme Court, made up of six out of nine conservative judges, on June 24 undermined the constitutional right to abortion, established almost 50 years ago, and returned to every state the right to make laws on this issue.

This historic victory for the conservative movement set off a political storm and placed the issue of abortion at the center of the November midterm election campaign.

Many women who want an abortion have to travel thousands of miles to find an open clinic if they can afford the trip.

Penalties range up to life imprisonment

In Texas, the law, which takes effect this Thursday, punishes up to life imprisonment any member of the medical staff performing an abortion, unless the life of the mother is in danger. This rule adds to the confusion of restrictive texts that have already led to the virtual cessation of abortion in this state of 30 million people.

In Tennessee, also in the south of the country, where abortion after six weeks was already banned, anyone who practices abortion may be sentenced to imprisonment. This state, like Texas, does not provide exceptions for cases of rape or incest, and observers say the law is unclear when intervening to save the mother.

In the state of Idaho (Northwest), a new document allows those who have an abortion to be punished by two to five years in prison, except in cases of incest or violation. Last Wednesday, a federal judge blocked part of this law, and the state will not be able to prosecute doctors who perform abortions to protect women’s health.

The day before, a reverse court ruling was issued in Texas, illustrating the confusion around the legal battles that are multiplying across the country.

Mobilize the masses

In the long term, about half of the states of the North American nation, especially the central and southern, conservative and religious, could ban or severely restrict right to abortion.

In Indiana, such a law will go into effect on September 15. On the contrary, the Democratic-run states tend to present themselves as “safe havens” for abortion rights.

President Joe Biden has made the defense of voluntary abortion one of the themes of his campaign to mobilize his electoral base, in particular women, ahead of a November election that threatens his fragile majority in Congress. Two recent victories have given hope to the democratic field.

In early August, voters in Kansas, a traditionally right-wing state, voted to retain the constitutional guarantee for abortion. And on Tuesday, a pro-abortion Democrat defeated his Republican opponent in a hotly contested district in New York State.

(AFP)