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The leak is out. The Supreme Court has reportedly voted to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision from 1973 that protects the rights of people in the U.S. to seek an abortion.
The leaked draft of a majority opinion, released Monday by Politico, and confirmed as authentic by the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, is not the final ruling. It could change in the coming months.
But the fact is that five out of the nine justices on the Supreme Court agree with Mississippi, which brought the case under consideration, and favor striking down the historic ruling. And should that happen, abortion could instantly become outlawed overnight in at least 13 states, and possibly as many as 26.
Such a widespread reversal of laws protecting abortion rights would be a defining moment for the U.S. in terms of who gets access to reproductive rights, how it will affect state governments, how companies conduct business—changing the national political landscape. The Supreme Court was originally scheduled to release its final ruling in June, though that timeline could be moved up now that a draft opinion is circulating.
At the time of the leak, 13 states have already passed “trigger laws” related to abortion. These are preemptive abortion bans that are not being enforced right now, but need only to be “triggered” by a Supreme...
The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has rejected claims that he has withdrawn or rescinded the gazetted renaming of Graaff-Reinet to Robert Sobukwe Town, along with other geo...