“It is a right that we believe should be enshrined in law, and we are committed to defending it with all the tools at our disposal,” the American leaders promised.
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US President Joe Biden and his vice-president, Kamala Harris, have promised to use all the means at their disposal to defend the right to abortion, the future of which depends on a decision by the Supreme Court. “The constitutional law established by [la jurisprudence] Roe v. Wade” in 1973 “is under attack like never before”, they said in a press release, Saturday, January 22, on the occasion of the 49th anniversary of this historic judgment. “It’s a right that we believe should be enshrined in law, and we are committed to defending it with all the tools at our disposal.”
Without using the term “abortion” in their press release, which certain pro-abortion activists did not fail to point out, the president and his vice-president were alarmed at attempts to “restrict access to sexual and reproductive health care”, especially in Texas, Mississippi and other states.
The right to abortion in the United States is not guaranteed by federal law. It is based on the Supreme Court decision “Roe v. Wade”, in which the highest court in the land found that the Constitution guaranteed women’s right to control their bodies. In 1992, it confirmed this right as long as the fetus is not viable, around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy. But several conservative states have passed restrictive abortion laws, some of which contradict case law, in order to provide the high court with an opportunity to revisit the subject. They hope the new composition of the Supreme Court, now dominated by conservative justices, will push it to overturn its 1973 ruling.