Controversy mounts in U.S. over women’s abortion rights

The leaked draft opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade that recognized women’s abortion rights, which had been upheld since 1973, is fueling and fanning political and societal division in the United States. With the Supreme Court’s opinion at the center of political controversy, the nation has swept by confusion.

U.S. President Joe Biden defended abortion rights and said Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed women’s right to abortion until six months into pregnancy, should not be overturned by saying that a woman’s right to choose is fundamental. President Biden’s upright defiance against the initial Supreme Court draft opinion, which can be summarized into the head of the executive branch pitted against the judiciary, indicates that the right to abortion is a core issue that divides the conservative and the liberal in the United States.

The Democratic Party announced that it would pass federal legislation that would ensure the right to abortion, while the opposition Republican Party reacted to support the draft, saying that a fetus’s right to life deserves respect.

As the society divides over the right to abortion, the U.S. politics is likely to undergo transformational changes, with six months to go until the mid-election in November. Biden said that voters should vote for a candidate in support of the right to abortion. Opponents and supporters of abortion rights held protests in several big cities, including New York and Washington, D.C., Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed that the leaked draft opinion was an authentic copy and promised to investigate how the document leaked and the cause.


weappon@donga.com