Wolf reaffirmed his stance to protect abortion access in Pennsylvania.

“The right to bodily autonomy is under attack. Overturning Roe v. Wade isn’t about preserving life. It’s about exerting control. I don’t think it’s possible to overemphasize the seismic shift this represents in America’s approach to privacy, to personal autonomy, to health care rights,” said Governor Wolf. “I stand today assuring Pennsylvanians that abortion access and reproductive health care will remain legal and safe as long as I am governor.”

Since taking office, Wolf has championed abortion access by vetoing three different anti-abortion bills passed by Pennsylvania’s General Assembly and vowed to veto the rest.

The controversial document

It was leaked that Supreme Court could end the right to abortion in the United States, according to a court’s page draft obtained by the media outlet Politico.

If the document is finally approved, it would tear apart nearly 50 years of constitutional protections for women.

The 98-page draft was authored by Justice Samuel Alito and distributed inside the conservative-dominated court, according to Politico.

The text labels the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade decision enshrining abortion rights as “appallingly wrong from the start” and that Roe and Casey (a 1992 decision known as the Planned Parenthood v. Casey case, in which the court guaranteed a woman’s right to abort until the fetus is viable outside the womb –usually between 22 and 24 weeks gestation-) ”should be overturned.”

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Abortion under heavy fire

Reproductive rights have come under increasing threat in the United States in recent months, as states intended to tighten restrictions.

Right-wing politicians have launched an attack on abortion, while Democrats, bedinning with President Joe Biden, are fighting to protect access to the procedure.

In December, hearing oral arguments on a Mississippi law that could ban most abortions after 15 weeks, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed inclined not only to uphold the state rule but to overturn the decision of Roe vs. Wade.

Safe and legal

“Abortion is still safe and legal. Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania is still providing abortion care,” said Dayle Steinberg, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania. “The Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion is an unprecedented, gut-wrenching blow to our freedoms. The consequences of this impending decision will be swift and devastating for communities nationwide“.

Steinberg stated that women are responsible for their personal medical decisions and neither politicians, bans, or court rulings should interfere in their ability to access abortion.

“Generations before us have fought tirelessly to gain and protect the rights we have today. Planned Parenthood will not back down. We are furious, and we will fight back”, Steinberg said.

Wolf believes is a duty to protect the rights of women, not only in Pennsylvania but also in the entire country, especially in the states that don’t have a governor willing to wield their veto pen.

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The 98-page draft, obtained by Politico, was authored by Justice Samuel Alito and distributed inside the conservative-dominated court, the news outlet reported.

The text cites the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision enshrining abortion rights as “appallingly wrong from the start.”

“We hold that Roe and Casey should be overturned,” Alito writes in the document, labeled “Opinion of the Court” and posted on Politico’s website.

“It’s time to heed the Constitution and return the abortion issue to the elected representatives of the people.”

In Roe v. Wade, the country’s Supreme Court held that access to abortion is a woman’s constitutional right.

In a 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court guaranteed a woman’s right to abort until the fetus is viable outside the womb, which usually occurs between 22 and 24 weeks’ gestation.

“The inescapable conclusion is that abortion rights are not deeply rooted in the nation’s history and traditions,” Alito wrote.

Reproductive rights have come under increasing threat in the United States in recent months, as states have moved to tighten restrictions.

Right-wing politicians have launched an attack on abortion, while Democrats, led by President Joe Biden, are fighting to protect access to the procedure.

In December, hearing oral arguments on a Mississippi law that could ban most abortions after 15 weeks, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed inclined not only to uphold the state rule, but to overturn the decision to Roe vs. Wade.

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“It’s not definitive”

This nine-member body, dominated by conservatives following former President Donald Trump‘s nomination of three justices, is expected to issue a decision in the Mississippi case by June.

Politico stressed that the document it obtained is a draft and that opinions could change until then.

The leak of the text is extraordinary as a case is still being decided. Politico said it was the first time in modern history that a draft opinion had been publicly revealed.

Asked about the disclosed document, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said: “The Court has no comment.”

The Guttmacher Institute, a research group that advocates for abortion rights, has said it is “certain or likely” that 26 states will ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

States that do so could still legally allow abortion even if the court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Planned Parenthood, which operates abortion clinics across the country, called the draft opinion “outrageous” but cautioned that it is “not definitive.”

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A Guttmacher Institute report revealed that in 2017, 862,000 abortions were performed throughout the country, a figure that represents a decrease from the 926,000 counted in 2014 in its last research and just over one million recorded in 2011.

It should be noted that Guttmacher is the only entity that keeps track of all the pregnancy interruptions practiced in the United States. Federal data excludes California, Maryland and New Hampshire.

The new report highlights that the number of abortions is decreasing across the country, both in Republican-controlled states that seeks to restrict abortion and in Democratic-run states that protect abortion rights. Between 2011 and 2017, abortion rates increased in only five states and the District of Columbia.

In recent months, the right to abortion established in the United States by the Roe v. Wade ruling, has been severely constrained by the obstacles many states impose on abortion clinics, and by legislation at the municipal level that has limited access to abortion.

Despite these restrictions, the drop in abortion numbers could include fewer women becoming pregnant. The Guttmacher Institute notes that the birth rate declined during the years covered by the report, when the Affordable Health Care Act required most private health insurance plan to cover contraceptives at no additional expense.

The report also specifies that between 2011 and 2017, the number of cynics providing abortion services in the United States declined from 839 to 808, with significant regional disparities.

It states that the South had a decline of 50 clinics, including 25 in Texas, while in the Midwest region there was a decline of 33 clinics. In contrast, the Northeast added 59 clinics, mostly in New York and New Jersey.

 The report indicates that over that period, the abortion rate dropped 27% in Ohio and 30% in Texas, but it dropped fell by similar amounts in states that protect abortion access, such as California, Hawaii and New Hampshire.

Translated by: José Espinoza

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