There is perhaps no greater farce than Alito's appeal to democracy
(CNN)The US has the highest maternal mortality rate in the industrial world.
If the draft of Justice Samuel Alito's opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization becomes the framework for the Supreme Court decision on abortion, that rate will likely climb even higher.
US health care and political systems routinely fail those who are pregnant, failures that have grown even deadlier in recent years. Even before Covid-19 spiked maternal mortality in the US, rates were still on the rise, especially among Black women. If -- and it is probably now when -- the court overturns Roe, the combination of less-regulated abortion services and more girls and women being forced to carry pregnancies to term will ensure an even higher number of pregnancy-related deaths in the US.
The draft opinion reminds us these high death rates are the near-certain result of a political choice -- but not a democratic one. For all the talk of Roe v. Wade as a polarizing decision, Americans are not polarized on the question of whether it should remain in place. Though it's too soon for polling on this draft opinion, a January CNN poll shows 69% of Americans oppose a court ruling that would overturn Roe, consistent with other polling over the years. The Alito opinion is both radical and unpopular.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/04/opinions/abortion-rights-samuel-alito-roe-v-wade-hemmer/index.html
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