Former US President Barrack Obama has expressed dissatisfaction with the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn the constitutional r...
Former US President Barrack Obama has expressed dissatisfaction with the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn the constitutional right for American women to procure abortion. The retired president said he was prepared for the ruling, although it wasn't any less disappointing. "Today, the Supreme Court not only reversed nearly 50 years of precedent, it relegated the most intensely personal decision someone can make to the whims of politicians and ideologues — attacking the essential freedoms of millions of Americans," Obama said on his social media handles. Earlier, Obama had said: "The consequences of this decision would be a blow not just to women, but to all of us who believe that in a free society, there are limits to how much the government can encroach on our personal lives." "And this decision is unlikely to significantly reduce abortions, which have been steadily going down over the past several decades, thanks in large part to better access to contraception and education," he added. The landmark 1973 ruling known as "Roe versus Wade" had legalised abortion nationwide up to the point of foetal viability, generally accepted to be around 24 weeks into pregnancy. However, the US Supreme Court on Friday overturned the constitutional right to procure abortion that had been there for nearly 50 years handing over the power to 50 states to determine the cases individually. Pro-choice groups in USA, who believe abortion should be viewed as standard healthcare and a human right, have echoed President Obama's sentiment saying the removal of the constitutional right to abortion will create so called "abortion deserts" forcing women to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to terminate unwanted pregnancies.
