ATLANTA — A leak within our nation's highest court reveals the possible reversal of one of its most controversial decisions: Roe v. Wade.
Roe v. Wade is the U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized abortion nationwide. It was decided in 1973.
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions people are asking in response:
What's Georgia's abortion law?
Georgia’s six-week abortion law signed by Governor Kemp in 2019 was struck down after a federal court said it conflicted with Roe v. Wade.
The ruling was appealed and the appeals court put this on hold until the upcoming SCOTUS ruling.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals would overrule the federal court decision that initially struck down this law in Georgia, and then the six-week abortion law would go into effect and become standing law in Georgia. Gov. Kemp could call a special session, and make the abortion ban stricter in Georgia. As it is now, the six-week law halts abortions at about six weeks when a "fetal heartbeat" is detected.
What happens if Roe v. Wade is overturned?
The Georgia law would go into effect. It was passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019, and without a court ruling holding it back, it would become the standing law of the state of Georgia.
With Roe v. Wade completely overturned, it's possible Gov. Kemp could call a special session of the state legislature, the Georgia General Assembly, to write an even stricter abortion ban.
Currently, the law is designed to halt abortions at roughly six weeks – when a "fetal heartbeat" can be detected. State lawmakers, with the go-ahead from the Supreme Court ruling, may decide to go even farther.
The governor could also decline to call a special session, leaving the matter to the next legislative session next year.
When would this happen?
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts stressed on Tuesday that this opinion is not a final ruling and does not have any immediate effects on abortion access.
The formal release of the court’s ruling is expected in June.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned now, can it be reinstated later?
When the Supreme Court rules on a constitutional issue, that judgment is virtually final; its decisions can be altered only by the rarely used procedure of constitutional amendment or by a new ruling of the Court. However, when the Court interprets a statute, new legislative action can be taken.
Without Roe v. Wade, how would the US compare to the rest of the world?
Currently, the U.S. is one of 56 countries where abortion is legal at a woman's request, with no requirement for justification, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Over the past several decades, monumental gains have been made in securing women’s right to abortion, with nearly 50 countries liberalizing their abortion laws.
The U.S. would join Poland, El Salvador and Nicaragua in tightening abortion laws since 1994, according to The New York Times. The Mexico Supreme Court recently ruled criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional, according to CNN.