Today, Politico reported on a leaked majority opinion in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which involves Mississippi’s 15-week ban on abortions. In that opinion, a majority of the Court agrees that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, restricting the right to choose that has been the law of the land for almost 50 years.
If this rulings holds and is officially announced by the Supreme Court, 23 of the 50 states have trigger laws in place which will immediately ban abortions, including Utah.
“If the reports are correct and the Supreme Court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade this year, we will see one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation go into effect in Utah, thanks to a bill passed by the GOP supermajority and signed into law in 2020,” said Utah Democratic Party Chair Diane Lewis. “The Republicans have been fighting for decades to impose their unpopular, extremist views on this issue upon Americans, while Democrats have stood firm in the belief that reproductive freedom is fundamental and must be protected. That has not changed, and we will continue fighting for the rights affirmed by Roe v. Wade nearly 50 years ago.”
This ruling just emphasizes what we already knew: state legislative races are vitally important, and the state legislature is where we will have to take this fight if the Court does, in fact, overturn Roe v. Wade. That’s why the Utah Democratic Party is planning to give an unprecedented amount of support and resources this year to state legislative candidates, and we urge Utahns to support their local Democratic candidates.
The GOP will more than likely capitalize on this leaked ruling to scare people and continue to push their radical agenda, but remember: abortion is still legal. Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land, and it will remain so until the Court takes official action on this issue.
