NEW YORK (AP) – Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide, could be in jeopardy under Donald Trump’s presidency. If a reconfigured high court did overturn it, the likely outcome would be a patchwork map: some states protecting abortion access, others enacting tough bans, and many struggling over what new limits they might impose.
Trump, who will have at least one Supreme Court vacancy to fill, has pledged to appoint “pro-life” justices who potentially would be open to weakening or reversing Roe. With one seat vacant, the high court now has a 5-3 majority supporting abortion rights, and thus one of those five would need to vacate his or her seat to give the court an anti-abortion majority.
Trump broached that possibility in an interview aired Sunday night on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” suggesting that a reversal of Roe would return the matter to the states, leaving it up to their legislatures to decide the future of abortion access.
Asked about the likelihood that some women would face abortion bans in their states, Trump replied, “Well, they’ll perhaps have to go, they’ll have to go to another state.”
Supporters of abortion rights concurred with that analysis.