Is Roe v. Wade about to be overturned?

Yes, I was woefully late posting this. But that makes it more historical, capturing some of the sentiments before the event. 

A draft decision overturning the Roe decision has been leaked---perhaps the first leak of a decision in the history of the Supreme Court. But the leak isn't my focus in the least. There's so much to consider that has much more impact on people's lives. 

If Roe is overturned, it will become much harder to get an abortion in over half the states in the US. And it will stay the same in a lot of states, like mine. 

However it's hard to tell how much impact this will actually have because getting an abortion is much easier than it was back 50 years ago. Now you can take a pill. That pill can be shipped to you or to a friend. You and a group of friends can stock up and resupply as convenient. There's also going to other states, but that's not as easy as taking a pill, so the pills will probably be used more than anything.

Will states try to prevent this? Maybe, probably, but how successful can they be? We have a huge illegal drug issue in the US, and states and federal government haven't put an end to that. This would involve legally available pills and people who want the government to stop dictating to women. So I think flaunting the laws will be widespread. A few people may be imprisoned, and that will seem like an injustice of the most arbitrary kind. And life will go on without a lot of difference except perhaps some people will be more careful about contraceptive use. 

Image: i stock photo

Extras. Dems have been raked over the coals for not passing a national law protecting abortion rights. But they never had the votes in the Senate since the bill certainly would have been filibustered. They had only 54 votes, with 7 Dem senators being pro-life at that time in 2009. 

Annotated copy of the leaked draft opinion. 

The talking points for the Republican senators: stress how compassionate GOPers are and how horrible extremists Dems are. 

Fascinating article about the abortion business in New York City in the 1800s. Abortion was illegal, sort of, so it was advertised as restoring menstrual regularity. 

Fall-out in Ohio. A 10-year-old girl was raped and impregnated. She had to go to Indiana to get the abortion. Big impact on the discussions in states. 

A gallery of day-by-day fetal development. 

Update 4/11/24. Long article about women taking abortion pills in states with abortion bans. They can often get the pills free, but they aren't getting a doctor's care, and that's a huge loss. Many are unsure what is normal and what are the danger signs that they should seek medical care. If they seek medical care, will they be prosecuted or targeted in some ways? There are some volunteer services of doctors on call who will answer questions, but it's not a substitute for physician care in person and in crisis.