Chronology of events that led to the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade
Since Roe v. Wade was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, there have been a number of developments that have contributed to its undoing.
Abortion was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in its landmark Roe v. Wade decision on June 24. The court ruled 6-3 that states could enact their own abortion laws, either permitting or restricting the practice.
An appeals court in Mississippi overturned the state’s restriction on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy in Thomas Dobbs, et. al. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“Roe and [Planned Parenthood v. Casey] must be overruled, according to our reasoning. Abortion is not explicitly protected by any constitutional provision in the United States Constitution “For the majority, Justice Samuel Alito penned an opinion,
“From the beginning, Roe was erroneous. The choice was based on shaky logic, and the results have been dire. Instead of bringing the abortion debate to a close, Roe and Casey have stoked the fires of controversy and widened the chasm between pro-life and anti-abortion activists.”
An overview of events leading up to Roe’s overturning is provided below. Among them are Trump’s election, the Mississippi law, and the leaked draft of the opinion.
Donald Trump was elected on November 8, 2016.
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee in the United States, arrives in Manhattan, New York, with his son Barron and wife Melania, on November 9, 2016. Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Republican candidate Donald Trump defeated Democratic challenger Hillary Rodham Clinton in the presidential election, defying numerous polls that predicted otherwise.
Despite previously identifying as “very pro-choice,” Trump changed his tune, vowing to nominate Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade.
Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, went so far as to say during a campaign speech that if Trump is elected, the country will “see Roe v. Wade consigned to the ash heap of history where it belongs.”
Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation was announced on April 7, 2017.
Gorsuch
As U.S. President Donald J. Trump (C) watches with Louise Gorsuch in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., on April 10, 2017, Judge Neil Gorsuch (L) is sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court by Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy (R). | (Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Carlos Barria)
In 2017, the Senate confirmed Judge Neil Gorsuch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to the United States Supreme Court, filling the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia the previous year.
Gorsuch was nominated by Trump in January 2017 and previously unanimously confirmed by the Senate to the Tenth Circuit in 2006. The Senate confirmed him to the Supreme Court by a vote of 54-45.
“We celebrate the confirmation of a justice whom we expect to keep his promise to adhere to a textual and originalist view of the Constitution,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said at the time.
Democrats overwhelmingly opposed his nomination, citing their opposition to his conservative views as well as their outrage over the Republican-controlled Senate’s refusal to hold a hearing for President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland.
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