US: 10-year-old girl denied abortion in Texas after SC overturns Roe v. Wade

A pre-teen girl was denied abortion in the US state of Texas in a case that blatantly highlights the ill aftereffects of SCOTUS’ decision to scrap federal abortion rights. The 10-year-old, hailing from Ohio, was reported to be six weeks and three days pregnant, as reported by The Hill. According to Texas state law, females cannot get a fetus aborted after its cardiac activities begin, around six weeks. 

The unnamed patient is now traveling to Indiana to seek an abortion. Meanwhile, various pro-choice rights groups have started protests and filed lawsuits seeking to block the state law from taking effect on Wednesday, July 6. An emergency stay on the abortion ban was rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court on Friday, meaning that the ban can be upheld as the case is reviewed, according to Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Ohio is among several states that have rolled back access to abortion and other related facilities since US Supreme Court last week overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade verdict. Earlier this week, President Joe Biden said that all women traveling for abortions will be protected by the federal government. Virtually convening a panel of Democratic State Governors at the White House in the aftermath of the Roe v.Wade verdict, POTUS said that some states would try to arrest women crossing state borders to get abortion facilities. "I don't think people believe that's going to happen. But it's going to happen," he emphasised, adding that in this case, the women would be rendered protection by America’s federal law.

US SC overturns Roe V. Wade verdict

The US Supreme Court, on Friday, officially overturned the landmark Roe V Wade ruling of 1973 and took away women’s right to abortion. With the unprecedented reversal of a decades-old ruling, more than half of US states are now allowed to ban abortion, leaving an immediate and enduring impact on millions of American nationals. In a rare move, America’s apex court decided that there was no constitutional right to abortion in a case called Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Subsequently, in a 6-3 vote in the conservative-majority court, Roe V Wade was overturned after 50 years. As a result, states, especially the ones with a Republican majority, will be permitted to ban or introduce severe restrictions on abortion.   

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