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  WATCH

News This Week: 5/1 - 5/7

On Monday evening, POLITICO released a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that strikes down the landmark decision Roe v. Wade and allows states to ban abortion entirely.

  • On Tuesday morning, Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the report, but noted that it isn’t the court’s final decision.
  • The draft majority opinion was written by Justice Alito in February for the Center’s case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In the document, he claims that, “a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions” and that “Roe and Casey must be overruled.”
  • In reaction to the leaked draft, the Center’s president and CEO Nancy Northup said that overturning Roe “would represent the most damaging setback to the rights of women in the history of our country."
  • President Joe Biden released a statement on Tuesday morning in response to the leaked document expressing his support for Roe v. Wade and said the administration would be prepared to respond when a ruling is issued.

On Tuesday, a citizen-enforced abortion ban took effect in Oklahoma after the state’s Supreme Court declined an emergency request to block the law before it took effect.

  • Until the Court makes a further determination, most abortion in Oklahoma is now banned, cutting off access for thousands of people across the region.
  • Last month, Gov. Stitt also signed a total abortion ban into law that makes performing or attempting to perform an abortion a felony punishable by a maximum fine of $100,000 and/or a 10-year prison sentence. The near-total abortion ban is set to take effect this summer. 
  • The Center and its partners filed two separate lawsuits last week to challenge the state’s near-total ban and the citizen-enforced ban.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the Senate will vote next week on a bill to enshrine the right to abortion in federal law.

  •  The bill–the Women’s Health Protection Act–would protect the right to access abortion in every state, even if Roe is overturned.

Coming Up

Senate to vote on abortion legislation (WEDNESDAY)

  • On Wednesday, May 11, the Senate will vote for the second time this year on the Women’s Health Protection Act. 
  • The bill already passed the U.S. House of Representatives in September 2021. If the bill passes, it will need to return to the House before heading to Biden’s desk.

Hearing to block total abortion ban in Oklahoma (June 2)

  • A Oklahoma state district court judge will hear arguments in the case challenging S.B. 612 (a total ban on abortion passed this session that would make it a felony to provide abortion care). 
  • The Center has requested the judge issue a temporary injunction to block the law before it can take effect while litigation continues. 

Did You Know?

The Center has created interactive maps to track abortion laws both in the U.S. and around the globe. The “What If Roe Fell?” map provides a breakdown of each state’s abortion laws and allows users to see what would happen in each state if Roe v. Wade was overturned. The “World’s Abortion Laws” map shows what each country’s laws are around the world.

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