The US Supreme Court has agreed to consider a Mississippi law banning most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. This could potentially mark a serious attack on the right to abortion in the US.
A constitutional right to abortion was affirmed in 1973 through the ‘Roe v Wade’ case. If the Mississippi ban, which has been blocked by lower courts, was to be upheld, that would represent a devastating blow to the right to abortion.
Given that under Trump the political balance of the Supreme Court was tipped 6-3 in favour of right-wing conservatives, reversing Roe v Wade cannot be ruled out.
Right-wing Republican-controlled states have systematically legislated to erode access to abortion facilities and create obstacles to obtaining a termination. This has particularly hit poor, minority and immigrant women, who cannot afford to travel out of state. 10 states already have ‘trigger laws’ ready to ban almost all abortions.
US women’s jobs and livelihoods have been especially hit by the Covid pandemic. A mass movement needs to be built, involving the workers’ organisations, that combines defending the right to abortion with pressure to ensure that the minimal measures in Biden’s American Families Plan on childcare, parental leave etc, are implemented and extended, guaranteeing the right to a decent job, a $15 an hour minimum wage and the resources needed to bring up children free from poverty.