Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement from the United States supreme court this week represents the greatest threat to reproductive freedoms since the landmark 1973 case Roe v Wade legalized abortion in America.
If, as President Trump has repeatedly pledged, he nominates an anti-choice justice who is confirmed by the Senate, there are already cases in the pipeline that could give the supreme court an opportunity to severely limit women’s access to abortion, either by overturning Roe v Wade or hollowing out its protections.
It is likely abortion could then be further restricted by individual state legislatures, paving the way for 24 states with a history of abortion limitations to take their restrictions further.
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Nearly half of US states could limit abortion within two years
There are already two cases before appellate courts, one level down from the supreme court, that could give the country’s highest court an opportunity to limit abortion access as soon as June 2019.
If Roe v Wade was overturned, 24 US states would…
