The Supreme Court appears poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case establishing a constitutional right to an abortion.
In May 2022, Politico reported that the Supreme Court had voted to strike down the watershed Roe v. Wade decision that establishes a constitutional right to an abortion, posting a 98-page draft opinion signed by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. According to the leaked opinion, five conservative justices voted to overturn Roe and the 1992 decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey. It appears to be an unprecedented leak from one of the most secretive deliberative bodies of power.
The case that sparked the decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, involves a Mississippi law that prohibits nearly all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. Dobbs is also the first case explicitly asking the Court to overrule Roe since Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s appointment gave Republican appointees a supermajority on the Supreme Court.
Twenty-two states already have laws on the books that ban abortion either outright or very early in a pregnancy. These bans haven’t been enforced because Roe forbids states from banning abortions. Without Roe, however, that would no longer be the case.
Follow this storystream for all of Vox’s coverage on the Supreme Court, what this means for abortion nationwide, reaction, analysis, and more.
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