The 5-4 decision, in which Chief Justice John Roberts joined with the court's four more liberal justices, struck down a law passed by the Louisiana Legislature in 2014 that required any doctor offering abortion services to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. Its enforcement had been blocked by a protracted legal battle.
Democratic front runner Joe Biden has long supported Roe v. Wade, but it was recently revealed he supports the controversial Hyde Amendment, which bans using federal funds for abortion services except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
For all of the recent attention on this issue, there is one key question that looms over the debate over abortion rights and access: What will the Supreme Court do?
by Seung Min Kim, Amy Goldstein | The Washington Post
President Trump has joined a chorus of Republicans distancing themselves from new state laws banning the vast majority of abortions, though he emphasized what he called a “strongly pro-life” stance he has held throughout his time in the White House. Without referring specifically to an Alabama law enacted last week that makes performing abortions a felony unless a pregnancy seriously risks a woman’s health, Trump reiterated his position that abortion should be legal following rape or incest.
With the Supreme Court's conservative makeup, more states are implementing legislation that tests the limits of Roe v. Wade. Alabama's governor has signed the most restrictive abortion law in the country, while Vermont aims to preserve abortion rights into the future.
