The annulment of Roe v. Wade Sheds Light on Common Manipulation in the US Legislature – National | Globalnews.ca

Reversing half a century of national legal protection for abortion, the US Supreme Court ruled that Roe v. Wade had made the wrong decision and that it was time to “take the abortion issue back to the elected representatives of the people” in the states.

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Whether those elected officials are truly representative of the people is up for debate, thanks to another high court decision that has allowed control of state legislatures to be skewed to the right or left.

In June 2019, three years before its landmark abortion ruling, the Supreme Court decided that it has no role in curbing partisan gerrymandering, in which Republicans or Democrats manipulate congressional district lines to give them an advantage. their candidates.

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A look at how the annulment of Roe v. Wade triggers legal problems related to abortion in the US.

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The result is that many legislatures are more partisan than the population of the state as a whole. Gerrymandering flourished again as politicians used 2020 census data to redraw districts that could benefit their party for both this year’s election and the next decade.

In some swing states with Republican-led legislatures, such as Michigan and Wisconsin, “gerrymandering really is arguably the main reason why abortion is likely to be illegal,” said Chris Warshaw, a political scientist at George Washington University who analyzes redistricting data.

Meanwhile, “in states where Democrats have rigged, it will probably help make abortion laws more liberal than people would like,” he added.

Most Americans support abortion access in general, though many say there should be some restrictions, according to public opinion polls.

States have sometimes been seen as laboratories for democracy, institutions more closely connected with the people where public policies are tested, take root and potentially spread.


Click to play video: 'Roe v.  Wade Overturned: Biden Says Not Enough Votes to Change Obstructionism for Abortion Rights'







Roe v. Wade Overruled: Biden Says Not Enough Votes to Change Obstructionism for Abortion Rights


Roe v. Wade Overruled: Biden Says Not Enough Votes to Change Obstructionism for Abortion Rights

Writing for the majority of the Supreme Court in its June 24 abortion decision, Justice Samuel Alito noted that 30 states had outlawed abortion by the time Roe v. Wade Act of 1973 “short-circuited the democratic process,” usurped legislators, and imposed abortion rights across the country.

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“Our decision returns the abortion issue to those legislative bodies, and allows women on both sides of the abortion issue to seek to affect the legislative process by influencing public opinion, lobbying lawmakers, voting and running for office,” Alito wrote.

Abortion is already an issue in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial and legislative elections. A recent Wisconsin poll showed a majority supported legal abortion in most or all cases. But a fight is brewing over an 1849 state law _ which had not been enforced until Roe v. Wade _ which prohibits abortion except to save the woman’s life.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is backing a court challenge to strike down the law, enacted just a year after Wisconsin gained statehood. He also called a special legislative session in June to repeal it. But the Republican-led Assembly and Senate adjourned in seconds without taking action.

Wisconsin’s legislative chambers had one of the strongest Republican leads in the nation over the past decade and are projected to continue to do so under new districts drawn for the 2022 election, according to analysis by PlanScore, a nonprofit organization that uses electoral data to rate partisans. tilt of legislative districts.

“Democracy is distorted in Wisconsin because of these maps,” said Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer.

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In 2018, Democrats won every major statewide office, including governor and attorney general, races that are not gerrymandered. But they have been unable to overcome heavily rigged state legislative districts since Republicans won control of the state House during midterm elections in 2010.

“If we had a truly democratic system in Wisconsin, we would be in a different situation,” he said. “We would be overturning this criminal abortion ban right now”

Republican state Rep. Donna Rozar, a former heart nurse who supports abortion restrictions, said gerrymandering shouldn’t stop political parties from fielding good candidates to represent their districts. She hopes for a robust debate on abortion on the campaign trail to bring to the 2023 legislative session.

“This is an issue that is so critical to get back to the states, because every state gets to elect people who represent their values.” Rozar said.

The 2010 midterm elections, two years after the election of former President Barack Obama, were a turning point for control of state parliaments across the country. Before that election, Democrats fully controlled 27 state legislatures and Republicans 14, with the rest split. But the GOP’s landslide victories put the party in charge of redistricting in many states. By 2015, after two elections under the new maps, Republicans fully controlled 30 legislatures and Democrats only 11.

That Republican legislative advantage largely persisted through the 2020 election, even in states that are otherwise closely divided between Democrats and Republicans, such as Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

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In New Mexico, it is Republicans who argue that the Democratic-led Legislature has pushed beyond the will of many voters on abortion policies. New Mexico’s House and Senate districts had a sizable lead in favor of Democrats over the past decade that became even more pronounced after the districts were redrawn based on the 2020 census, according to PlanScore data. .

Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation last year repealing a dormant 1969 law that banned most abortions. After Roe v. Wade, she signed an executive order making New Mexico a safe port for people seeking abortions. Unlike most states, New Mexico has no restrictions on late-term abortions.

“I don’t think most New Mexicans support New Mexico’s abortion policy right now,” said Republican state Sen. Gay Kernan. “New Mexico is basically the late-term abortion capital of the United States.”


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Roe v. Wade overruled: Supreme Court judge indicates more rights could be at stake


Roe v. Wade overruled: Supreme Court judge indicates more rights could be at stake

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti has proposed banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for rape, incest and when the woman’s life is at risk. But the legislative proposal has been described as dead on arrival by Democratic state Sen. Linda Lopez.

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Michigan could provide one of the greatest tests of representative government in the nation’s new abortion battle.

Republicans drew Michigan’s legislative districts after the 2010 census and created such a sizable lead for their party that it may have helped the GOP maintain control of the highly divided House of Representatives, according to an Associated Press analysis. As in Wisconsin, Democrats in Michigan won the race for governor and every other major statewide office in 2018, but were unable to overcome Republican-leaning legislative districts.

The dynamic has changed for this year’s election. The GOP lead was cut in half with new legislative districts drawn by a voter-approved citizen redistricting commission, according to PlanScore data. That could improve Democrats’ chances of winning a chamber and influencing abortion policy.

Republican opponents of the Michigan governorship generally support a 1931 state law _ temporarily suspended by a judge _ that bans abortions unless a woman’s health is at risk. Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is running for re-election, wants to repeal that law.

Republican state Rep. Steve Carra said lawmakers are looking to replace it with “something 21st century enforceable.”

“It is more important to protect life than a woman’s right to choose to take that life,” said Carra, who is leading a coalition of 321 lawmakers from 35 states that urged the Supreme Court to return abortion policy to the states.

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Unsure about their legislative prospects, abortion rights advocates are gathering signatures for a November ballot initiative that would create a state constitutional right to abortion, allowing it to be regulated only “after fetal viability.”

“It’s the best opportunity we have to ensure access to abortion,” said Democratic state Rep. Laurie Pohutsky. “I think if this is put in the hands of the voters, they will want to see this ballot measure succeed.”

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