The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5:4 that day to overturn the "Roe" case, which had lasted for nearly 50 years, and removed the U.S. Constitution's protection of the right to abortion.

"It is really unimaginable that 9 judges have decided the fate of all women in this country..." On the evening of June 24, the U.S. Federal Supreme Court announced the overturn of the " Roe v. Wade case " (hereinafter referred to as After the "Roy Case" case, 18-year-old American girl Leah expressed her frustration to a reporter from the Beijing News.

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5:4 that day to overturn the "Roe case", a precedent that had lasted for nearly 50 years, and removed the U.S. Constitution's protection of the right to abortion. After the "Roe" case is overturned, more than half of the states in the United States will ban or restrict abortion, which means that approximately 40 million American women will lose their right to legal abortion.

"I think this is probably one of the things that makes the United States seem to be going backwards." Leah said.

"Nine Special People"

The 9 Unelected People and the Power to Change the United States

In the United States, there are 9 people with a very special status - they are not elected by the American people, but once they hold office, they are lifelong. Their views may differ greatly, but a simple majority can pass a verdict. The judgments they made have a profound impact on all aspects of American society.

They are the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court.

The United States implements a system of separation of powers, that is, the executive power headed by the president, the legislative power headed by Congress, and the judicial power headed by the Federal Supreme Court are separated. The three are independent of each other and check and balance each other.

The Federal Supreme Court is established in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, but its specific organization is determined by Congress. In 1789, the U.S. Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789, establishing the earliest federal judicial system in the United States. At that time, the Supreme Court consisted of six justices.

In the following decades, the number of Supreme Court justices ranged from 5 to 10. It was not until 1869 that the U.S. Congress established a system of nine justices on the Supreme Court—including one chief justice and eight associate justices. This system continues to this day.

Supreme Court justices are nominated by the President of the United States and sworn in after confirmation by the Senate. Once in office, justices serve for life. Up to now, there have been 116 justices in the history of the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the U.S. judicial system and the final interpreter of the U.S. Constitution. Its most important responsibility is to determine whether a certain law or government action is unconstitutional. The Conversation, an explanatory news network, pointed out that if a case involves federal law or the U.S. Constitution, one party to the case can appeal to the Federal Supreme Court.

The overturning of the Roe case by the U.S. Supreme Court originated from the "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization" case in Mississippi (hereinafter referred to as the "Dobbs case"). Mississippi passed the "Gestational Age Act" in 2018, banning abortions on fetuses over 15 weeks gestation. A district court had already ruled the bill unconstitutional, barring it from taking effect. Because according to the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe case, women have the right to have abortions in the first two stages of pregnancy (approximately the first six months).

But the Supreme Court accepted the case and overturned the lower court's decision in the Dobbs case by a vote of 6:3. It also overturned the Roe case and the 1992 decision by a vote of 5:4. "Planned Parenthood Alliance v. Casey" (hereinafter referred to as "Casey") case.

"The United States is a country of case law. It is very rare for the Supreme Court to deprive individuals of their rights by overturning previous precedents. Therefore, this case also shocked the United States and even the entire world." Liu Weidong, a researcher at the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told a reporter from the Beijing News express.

CNN (CNN) pointed out that generally speaking, the judgment of the Federal Supreme Court is the final decision, and no institution can overturn its decision. But the Supreme Court can set new standards by overturning its own previous precedents.

For nearly half a century, the "Roe" and "Casey" cases have protected American women's right to abortion, and also triggered a fierce debate between those who support abortion rights and those who oppose abortion rights that has lasted for decades.Now, the Supreme Court's overturning of the "Roe" and "Casey" precedents has directly caused American women to lose their constitutionally guaranteed right to abortion, and states can formulate their own laws on abortion.

American legal scholar and lawyer Zhang Jun said in an interview with a reporter from the Beijing News, "The U.S. Supreme Court is not responsible for public opinion, but many of its decisions have a decisive impact on the process of American society."

The Conversation pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court The court receives more than 8,000 cases every year, but generally, it only receives 60-70. In addition to the 1973 "Roe" decision concerning American women's abortion rights, the U.S. Supreme Court has made many decisions in history that have fundamentally changed American society.

For example, in June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5:4 decision that gay marriage is a right recognized by the U.S. Constitution, thus ensuring that same-sex couples can marry in all 50 U.S. states and overseas territories.

In December 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court requested a halt to Florida's recount with a 5:4 result, ending the election counting crisis that year, and George W. Bush was successfully elected president. This is the only time in the United States in more than 200 years that the Supreme Court has ruled on the results of a presidential election.

In May 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9:0 that racial segregation in public schools violated the equal protection rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, whereby school children may not be rejected based on race. Admission. This decision spurred the development of the American civil rights movement.

"Sometimes the judgments issued by the Supreme Court are beneficial to the progress of American society, and sometimes they have some bad effects. Such precedents are everywhere in history, and history is needed to test whether they are correct." Zhang Jun express.

On June 26, 2022 local time, the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, USA. Picture/IC photo

"Assassination of the Justice"

Falling public opinion and the transcendent justice

After the Supreme Court overturned the "Roe case", continuous protests broke out across the United States. Some protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court to demonstrate. Protesters besieged the homes of the justices who overturned the "Roe" case, and some even threatened to assassinate these justices.

According to CNN reports earlier this month, due to the continued protests and threats against the Supreme Court and its justices, U.S. Supreme Court Law Enforcement Officer Gale Curley has written to officials in Maryland , Virginia and other places, requesting that they strengthen their control over the Supreme Court and its justices. Protection of the Chancery Quarter. It is reported that many Supreme Court justices live in Maryland and Virginia.

In fact, since the draft opinion of the Supreme Court on the "Roe case" was leaked in early May, there have been protests and threats against the justices of the Supreme Court. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to law enforcement agencies at the time, saying that potential threats against Supreme Court justices were rising rapidly.

According to reports, there were calls to ban people from holding protests outside the judge’s residence, but the Ministry of Justice did not respond to the call. Later, US President Biden signed a law in mid-June to expand the security protection for the justices' immediate family members.

The "Roe case" can be said to be an important trigger for the dispute between American public opinion and the Supreme Court. A poll released by the National Public Radio (NPR) after the "Roe" case was overturned showed that 56% of the American people opposed the Supreme Court's decision, 40% supported it, and 4% were unsure.

This is consistent with polling on abortion rights in the United States. Survey results released by the Pew Research Center in early May showed that 61% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in almost all circumstances. Poll results conducted by multiple US media after the Supreme Court's draft opinion on the Roe case was leaked also showed that more than 60% of the people believed that the Roe case should not be overturned.

However, despite strong opposition from mainstream public opinion, the Supreme Court still made a judgment consistent with the draft opinion-overturning the "Roe" and "Casey" cases.

"The founding fathers of the United States intentionally made a distinction when they established the American system - the executive and legislative authorities are elected by the people, and they maintain a relatively close relationship with the people; but the judiciary maintains a certain distance from the people." Zhang Jun explained to the Beijing News reporter, "The justices of the Supreme Court have two major characteristics: they are not elected by the people and have lifelong tenure, which allows them to maintain a detached role and do not need to respond to current public opinion."

Zhang Jun pointed out that since Judging from the history of the United States, many important judgments may not have been the mainstream public opinion at the time, but as times change, people's perceptions are also changing - just like the "Roe case" judgment in 1973, many people may not have believed it at the time. It does not agree with women’s right to abortion, but the Supreme Court still passed this judgment and guaranteed women’s right to abortion. To some extent, the design of the Supreme Court is to enable them to side with minority public opinion and protect minority rights.

"The situation is the same today. Although most Americans oppose overturning Roe, the Supreme Court does not need to be responsible for public opinion, so they still made a decision to overturn Roe based on their own interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. ." Zhang Jun said.

What is noteworthy is that the American people have been dissatisfied with the Supreme Court for a long time. A poll released by the polling agency Gallup on June 23 showed that the American people's confidence in the Supreme Court has fallen to an all-time low - only 25% of Americans said they have "a fair amount" or "a lot" of confidence in the Supreme Court. "More" confidence dropped by 11 percentage points from 36% a year ago.

Gallup said that since the beginning of this year, the American people's confidence in many federal agencies has declined, but confidence in the Supreme Court has dropped the most.

In this regard, Liu Weidong said that the U.S. Supreme Court is generally regarded as a "political pure land" in a relative sense, because the justices are tenured for life and do not need to please or please anyone once they are appointed, so their social reputation is usually better than president or congressman.

However, the positions of justices are nominated by the president and approved by the Senate. They also have their own fixed value orientation, so they cannot be completely separated from politics. In particular, the Supreme Court has recently taken more and more stances on sensitive issues such as gun control, abortion, and homosexuality that have triggered disputes between the two parties, which will inevitably trigger more and more controversies.

As the overall value orientation changes, the decisions handed down by the Supreme Court will also change - sometimes leaning toward conservatives, sometimes toward liberals. “In the eyes of ordinary people, the Supreme Court seems to be capricious and swinging, so confidence in this institution continues to decline,” Liu Weidong said. “But even so, due to the independence of the Supreme Court, the justices do not care too much. I will still go my own way."

On May 4, 2022, local time, in Washington, DC, a leaked opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court showed that the Supreme Court may overturn the Roe v. Wade case that protects women's abortion rights. People in the United States A protest was held outside the Supreme Court. Picture/IC photo

"The beginning of a new era"

A conservative-dominated Supreme Court and an America moving to the right

" Trump has left the White House . But the Supreme Court is making sure his legacy lives on." NBC commented this one day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe case.

On October 26, 2020, the U.S. Senate voted to approve then-President Trump’s nomination of Amy Barrett as justice of the Federal Supreme Court. Barrett is the third justice nominated by Trump during his four-year term. Previously, Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, and both nominations were approved by the Senate.

After the three conservative justices nominated by Trump were sworn in, the structure of the U.S. Supreme Court completely changed - the ratio of conservative and liberal justices changed from 5:4 to 6:3, giving conservatives an absolute advantage. At that time, many observers pointed out that there might be a right-leaning conservative trend in American society.

"The Supreme Court of the United States has the final authority to interpret the Constitution, and the Constitution is the supreme law that governs all other legislation. Currently, the Supreme Court with an absolute majority of conservatives is actively changing the interpretation of the Constitution and promoting the realization of conservative policy priorities." United States Leslie Jacobs, a professor at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, said in an interview with a reporter from the Beijing News that these changes will affect legislation throughout the United States.

Jacobs explained that in terms of abortion rights, the Supreme Court overturned the Roe case and states can make their own laws on abortion. In areas such as gun control, restrictions on interaction between religion and the public sphere, and emission control, the Supreme Court's decision will make it difficult for states to enact relevant laws based on the majority opinions of the people in the state.

The annual session of the United States Supreme Court begins on the first Monday in October of that year and lasts until the first Monday of October of the following year. Generally speaking, the Supreme Court releases most of its rulings by mid-June. The current session of the Supreme Court will begin on October 4, 2021. This is also the first full session after the three conservative justices nominated by Trump were sworn in.

"The big question as this session begins is not which direction the Supreme Court will turn, but how quickly it will change direction." Gregory Garay, U.S. Deputy Attorney General during the George W. Bush administration Speaking to the " Washington Post", "Now we know: soon."

On June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned New York State a law that restricted people from carrying concealed guns outside in a 6:3 decision. , in fact expanded the American people’s right to bear arms. On June 24, the Supreme Court overturned the "Roe" and "Casey" cases with a 5:4 result, and American women's right to abortion lost constitutional protection. On June 27, the Supreme Court ruled 6:3 in favor of prayer in public schools, which was considered to further erode the principle of "separation of church and state". On June 30, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Congress failed to give the Environmental Protection Agency the authority in the Clean Air Act to set emission caps for power plants based on the methodology in its Clean Power Plan, thus limiting environmental protection. The agency has the power to regulate carbon emissions from power plants.

The "Washington Post" stated that the Supreme Court with a majority of conservatives has made "an avalanche of changes" during this session, covering all aspects of American social life.

On June 26, 2022 local time, in Washington, DC, the United States, protesters supporting abortion rights held a demonstration outside the U.S. Supreme Court after the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Picture/IC photo

"It can be seen that the U.S. Supreme Court is in a special situation - conservative justices account for an absolute majority. It is also using this special situation to try to get more involved in American political and social life and lead the United States Society is becoming more conservative. Since the justices who have entered the Supreme Court in recent years are relatively young, it will be a long-term trend for the Supreme Court to lead American society toward conservatism.

Among the current nine justices of the Supreme Court, the eldest is 74-year-old Clarence Thomas, and the youngest is 50-year-old Amy Barrett. The Washington Post stated that since their terms are lifelong, if nothing unexpected happens, they will continue to dominate the Supreme Court for decades to come. Therefore, the Supreme Court’s decision during this session may be just the beginning of a new era in the United States.

Obviously, the rightward trend in American society will not stop at the issue of abortion rights. Some conservative justices have demonstrated their "ambition" to "change America." According to the "Business Insider" website, conservative Justice Thomas once said to his clerks in the 1990s, "The liberals have made my life miserable for 43 years, and I will make them miserable for 43 years."

In addition, according to the "Washington Post" report, the Supreme Court has decided that the next hearing period will be on whether universities can use race as a factor affecting admissions, and whether wedding designers can say no to same-sex couples. Same-sex couple jobs, etc. ruling.

In Zhang Jun’s view, it is inevitable that American society will shift to the right in the coming period. "In the past few decades, American society has been moving to the left, that is, to the liberal direction. In the eyes of some people, the United States has even begun to move to the extreme left. Now that the conservatives on the Supreme Court have the upper hand, they must hope to bring the entire United States to the left. The speed of moving to the left has slowed down, so they may not hesitate to 'overcorrect'."

Zhang Jun explained: "American society is very polarized, just like a pendulum. American society may have swung violently to the left before, but now it is going back. It will inevitably swing violently to the right first. It may take several election cycles before the pendulum can slowly swing to the center."

Beijing News reporter Xie Lian

Editor Bai Shuang proofread Chen Diyan