US Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Ending Abortion Right
2022-06-25
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1The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established the constitutional right for women to choose to have an abortion.
2Abortion is a medical operation that ends a pregnancy.
3Friday's ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans or restrictions in about half of the states in the country.
4The court, in a six to three ruling, upheld a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
5The vote was five to four to overturn Roe v. Wade.
6Justice Samuel Alito wrote the court's opinion for the conservative majority.
7He wrote, "We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled.
8The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision."
9Planned Parenthood v. Casey is a 1992 court decision that confirmed abortion rights in the country.
10Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that he upheld the Mississippi law but did not want to overturn the 1973 decision.
11He noted that the "ruling is unnecessary to decide the case before us."
12Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan disagreed with the majority's ruling.
13They wrote, "With sorrow-for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection-we dissent."
14To dissent means to disagree with an official opinion.
15The three dissenting justices noted that with the decision, "... a woman has no rights to speak of.
16 A state can force her to bring a pregnancy to term, even at the steepest personal and familial costs."
17Thirteen American states, mainly in the South and Midwest, already have laws that ban abortion in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned.
18The Guttmacher Institute, an organization that supports abortion rights, says 26 American states are likely to ban abortion without Roe.
19Some states, including Texas and Oklahoma, permit private citizens to bring civil legal cases against anyone who assists a woman seeking an abortion.
20States controlled by the Democratic Party such as California, Connecticut and Washington have passed laws to protect people who provide or seek abortions from legal action.
21The decision to overturn Roe v. Wade came even though a large number of Americans say that they support abortion rights.
22In a public opinion study carried out in March of this year, the Pew Research Center found that 61 percent of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
23Thirty-seven percent said they think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
24The center said its numbers have not changed much in the past few years.
25Support for abortion rights is much higher, at 80 percent, among those who identified as Democrats or who support Democrats.
26The center said 38 percent of Republicans and their supporters approve of abortion.
27House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said the decision is part of a Republican Party plan to take away a "women's right to make their own reproductive health decisions."
28In a statement, Pelosi said, "In the Congress, Republicans are plotting a nationwide abortion ban.
29 In the states, Republicans want to arrest doctors for offering reproductive care and women for terminating a pregnancy."
30Mike Pence, the former Republican Vice-President under Donald Trump, said on Twitter, "Today, Life Won."
31The long-time abortion rights opponent then called for abortion to be banned across the country.
32Pence wrote, "... we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land."
33Overturning Roe v. Wade has long been a goal of Christian conservatives and many Republicans.
34As a Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump promised in 2016 that he would appoint justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.
35 As president, Trump appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
36They were part of the majority that overturned the decision on Friday.
37Both the Guttmacher Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , or CDC, say legal abortions have generally decreased in the U.S.
38Guttmacher recorded more than 1.5 million abortions in 1991, about two-thirds more than the 930,160 it reported for 2020.
39The CDC reported just over 1 million abortions in 1991 and 629,898 in 2019.
40Worldwide, the World Health Organization said about 73 million abortions take place yearly.
41The health organization calls it "a common health intervention" and "a critical public health and human rights issue."
42I'm Ashley Thompson.
1The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that established the constitutional right for women to choose to have an abortion. 2Abortion is a medical operation that ends a pregnancy. Friday's ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans or restrictions in about half of the states in the country. 3The decision 4The court, in a six to three ruling, upheld a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The vote was five to four to overturn Roe v. Wade. 5Justice Samuel Alito wrote the court's opinion for the conservative majority. He wrote, "We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision." Planned Parenthood v. Casey is a 1992 court decision that confirmed abortion rights in the country. 6Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that he upheld the Mississippi law but did not want to overturn the 1973 decision. He noted that the "ruling is unnecessary to decide the case before us." 7Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan disagreed with the majority's ruling. They wrote, "With sorrow-for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection-we dissent." 8To dissent means to disagree with an official opinion. 9The three dissenting justices noted that with the decision, "... a woman has no rights to speak of. A state can force her to bring a pregnancy to term, even at the steepest personal and familial costs." 10State laws 11Thirteen American states, mainly in the South and Midwest, already have laws that ban abortion in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned. The Guttmacher Institute, an organization that supports abortion rights, says 26 American states are likely to ban abortion without Roe. 12Some states, including Texas and Oklahoma, permit private citizens to bring civil legal cases against anyone who assists a woman seeking an abortion. 13States controlled by the Democratic Party such as California, Connecticut and Washington have passed laws to protect people who provide or seek abortions from legal action. 14The decision to overturn Roe v. Wade came even though a large number of Americans say that they support abortion rights. In a public opinion study carried out in March of this year, the Pew Research Center found that 61 percent of U.S. adults say abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Thirty-seven percent said they think abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. 15The center said its numbers have not changed much in the past few years. Support for abortion rights is much higher, at 80 percent, among those who identified as Democrats or who support Democrats. The center said 38 percent of Republicans and their supporters approve of abortion. 16Reactions 17House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said the decision is part of a Republican Party plan to take away a "women's right to make their own reproductive health decisions." 18In a statement, Pelosi said, "In the Congress, Republicans are plotting a nationwide abortion ban. In the states, Republicans want to arrest doctors for offering reproductive care and women for terminating a pregnancy." 19Mike Pence, the former Republican Vice-President under Donald Trump, said on Twitter, "Today, Life Won." The long-time abortion rights opponent then called for abortion to be banned across the country. Pence wrote, "... we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in the land." 20Overturning Roe v. Wade has long been a goal of Christian conservatives and many Republicans. 21As a Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump promised in 2016 that he would appoint justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. As president, Trump appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. They were part of the majority that overturned the decision on Friday. 22Abortions in the U.S., around the world 23Both the Guttmacher Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , or CDC, say legal abortions have generally decreased in the U.S. 24Guttmacher recorded more than 1.5 million abortions in 1991, about two-thirds more than the 930,160 it reported for 2020. The CDC reported just over 1 million abortions in 1991 and 629,898 in 2019. 25Worldwide, the World Health Organization said about 73 million abortions take place yearly. The health organization calls it "a common health intervention" and "a critical public health and human rights issue." 26I'm Ashley Thompson. 27Hai Do wrote this report for VOA Learning English. 28We want to hear from you. What do you think about the abortion issue in the United States and how is the issue dealt with in your country? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 29_______________________________________________________________________ 30Words in This Story 31reference -n. the act of mentioning something in speech or in writing 32implicitly -adv. understood but not clearly or directly stated 33terminating -n. the act of causing the end of something 34relent -v. to agree to do or accept something that you have been resisting or opposing 35sanctity -n. the quality of being holy, very important or valuable