Roe v Wade and RBG’s legacy

There are tears aplenty across America this morning as millions awake to the news that the Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v Wade. The initial majority draft was leaked overnight, suggesting that the country’s highest court will strike down the landmark ruling that legalised abortion nationwide. With Republican legislatures passing restrictive measures across America, the decision is expected to allow each state to decide whether to restrict or ban abortion. At least it’ll give the Democrats something to run on in 2024.

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Already the rhetoric is ramping up across the country, with accusations flying as to who is to blame. Senator Bernie Sanders has already demanded that Congress pass legislation to codify Roe v Wade as the law of the land; Hillary Clinton calls it ‘an utter disgrace’ and ‘a direct assault on the dignity, rights, and lives of women.’ One name though ought to loom large in discussions about the Supreme Court decisions: the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the celebrated justice whose refusal to retire under a Democrat president has clearly backfired so spectacularly. 

Her death in post in 2020 caused a vacancy which Donald Trump duly filled with Amy Coney Barrett, giving the Supreme Court a clear pro-life, anti-abortion majority for the first time in modern history. Those supporters of Ginsburg who are mourning today might wish to reflect on how their heroine’s stubbornness led to this decision. The irony was clearly lost on some of her fans, who, during the court’s deliberations, queued up at one of Washington’s museums, to purchase branded merchandise with her face on.

She may well be remembered as ‘the notorious RBG’ but Ginsburg’s notoriety might ultimately owe more to her role in this judgement than any of her previous achievements.