According to Simon Grivet, lecturer in American history and civilization at the University of Lille, “for 2024, the question of abortion will be at the heart of the presidential campaign” in the United States.
The suspension of an abortion pill in the United States “is a setback for women’s rights and abortion which is very important”, said Saturday April 8 on franceinfo Simon Grivet, lecturer in American history and civilization at the University of Lille. US President Joe Biden announced on Friday that he would “combat” the decision of a federal judge to suspend one of the abortion pills in the United States.
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franceinfo: The abortion pill has been authorized for twenty years in the United States. What does this decision entail?
Simon Grivet: This complements the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2022 that removed the federal right to abortion. From there, each state determined itself and in half, abortion was prohibited or very strongly restricted with a limit set at six weeks. When you look at things, medical abortion is the procedure that is used the most, in 53% of cases. So it’s a very hard blow to this fundamental right.
Does the ban really apply to all of the United States?
A priori, this decision applies to the whole territory but the federal judge who implemented it suspended it for five days to allow an appeal. An hour later, we saw in the State of Washington, a judge appointed by Obama, take a contrary decision. So we are in a state of advanced legal and judicial confusion. There will be a very quick appeal from the federal government.
What can Joe Biden do other than appeal to the Supreme Court?
His political situation is complicated since the Republicans have control of the House, so he cannot obtain from Congress a federal law which would homogenize the situation. For now, the best he can do is go to the Supreme Court to get a decision that reverses that Texas judge and use those decisions politically. You can be sure that for 2024, the issue of abortion will be at the heart of the presidential campaign.
So it is the Federal Supreme Court that will decide?
Yes, it is very likely since the two camps do not want to stop there. It is a setback for women’s rights and abortion which is very important.
The Supreme Court is anti-abortion and has already decided to strike down the federal right to abortion. Do you really think she will go against this decision to ban the abortion pill?
This remains law, but here the judge decided to contravene the marketing authorization for a drug decided by the federal authority. Can a federal judge on his own suspend the marketing of a drug that has been in use since 2000? Women’s rights advocates are worried.
Can women have abortions freely in the United States?
Mainly in Democratic states whether on the west coast from California to Oregon or in the state of Illinois. But when we look at the maps, we realize that abortion has become impossible or very difficult in more than half of the States. There are obvious socio-economic issues and this women’s right mainly affects women who have the least means, cannot move and change state or country.
Is American society fundamentally opposed to abortion?
Care must be taken and regional nuances taken into consideration. In the South, there is clearly a majority opposed to abortion because of the importance of religious practice and faith. These are states where people are very Protestant or Catholic. In the rest of the country, especially on the coasts or the very large cities, we have a position that is similar to that of Western Europe. We tolerate abortion but we believe that a legislative framework is needed.