2022-05-12
58 分钟As the Supreme Court considers overturning Roe v. Wade, we look back at Steve Levitt’s controversial research on an unintended consequence of the 1973 ruling.
Last week, a draft ruling from the US Supreme Court was leaked and made public.
It was authentic, but not final, as the New York Times put it.
The draft was written by Justice Samuel Alito, who argued that Roe v.
Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that made abortion legal throughout the country, was, quote, egregiously wrong from the start.
It is time to heed the Constitution, Alito wrote, and return the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives.
The leak prompted a vigorous response from Democrats like Elizabeth Warren.
I am angry because we have reached the culmination of what Republicans have been fighting for, angling for, for decades now, and we are going to fight back.
Mitch McConnell, who blamed the leak on his political opponents for years the radical left, has attacked the institution of the Supreme Court.
Last night, it appears their campaign hit a new low, and from the rest of us, some of whom found the ruling despicable, my body, my choice.
My body, my choice.
And others who celebrated it, we are absolutely thrilled that we are seeing Roe v.
Wade dismantled.
If the court does ultimately overturn Roe, abortion would be regulated at the state level, as it was before the 1973 ruling.
Back then, only five states had legalized abortion.
According to the Pew Research center.
Abortion is easily one of the most controversial issues in the US.
80% of Democrats favor legal abortion in all or most cases, versus just over 35% of Republicans.
Over the past few years, many states had already moved to limit or restrict abortion, most notably Texas and Oklahoma.
If the court were to overturn Roe v.
Wade, this trend would accelerate quickly, with roughly half the states expected to ban or heavily restrict access to abortion.