Simmering fight over abortion rights lays bare divide in US, adds fuel to political polarization

Greater consequences

The Guttmacher Institute, a US-based organization that supports abortion rights, estimated that 26 states are either certain or likely to ban abortion if the Supreme Court overturns or dismantles Roe. Legislators in 13 states, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas, have already prepared for that possibility with "trigger laws" on the books.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 57 percent of Americans oppose a ban on abortions after 15 weeks; 58 percent say abortion should be legal in all or most cases; and 54 percent say the Supreme Court should uphold Roe, compared with 28 percent who say the ruling should be overturned.

In a statement, US President Joe Biden called for the election of "more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority," saying that he believes "a woman's right to choose is fundamental."

Analysts predicted abortion would become a key topic in the 2022 US midterm elections in November. In addition, the draft's language has sparked concern that the Supreme Court could reconsider and even reverse other established rights in the nation.

Members of the international community also warned against the threats to abortion rights for women in the United States and everywhere.

A spokesperson for United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that the UN chief "has long believed that sexual and reproductive health and rights are the foundation for lives of choice, empowerment, and equality for the world's women and girls."

"The tragedy about this whole leakage from the Supreme Court, unfortunately, now may make the Supreme Court overly political as one of the last institutions that were seen as sacrosanct," Harlan Ullman, senior advisor at the Atlantic Council, lamented Thursday during a panel discussion hosted by the Brookings Institution.

"So I'm really concerned that the image of this is going to have far greater consequences than whether or not Roe v. Wade is changed or kept," Ullman continued. "And this is just another sign of these divisions that are present in America."