The draft is not final and could undergo significant changes before the court’s formal opinion is released. In the meantime, however, CNN readers have asked hundreds of questions about what a reversal of the Supreme Court’s abortion rights precedents would mean and how it will affect access to the procedure.
We’re reading as many as we can and answering some of the most popular questions here.
Is the Supreme Court actually overturning the law or merely saying the decision belongs with each state’s law?
The Supreme Court, if it adopts the draft opinion, will be overturning previous court precedent that preempted state laws banning abortion before the fetus is viable, a point around 23 weeks into the pregnancy. In overturning the Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood decisions, the Supreme Court would be allowing states to pursue bans and other restrictions on pre-viability abortion.
However, such a ruling will not have the effect of banning abortion nationwide. According to the logic expressed in the draft decision (and with the caveat that it can still be changed before the final opinion comes out), the question of abortion policy would then go to state and local lawmakers — and potentially
Suppose Roe v. Wade is overturned. A recent fanfare of concern worries that a state would then be able to punish its citizens for traveling to other states to seek medical assistance in ending their pregnancies. Missouri is considering a statute that would do exactly that, and Texas activists are pushing a similar proposal. Other states may follow.
Would such a law be constitutional? It’s hard to be sure. The doctrine is a confusing mishmash, and the Supreme Court has declined to offer definitive guidance. Although legal scholars have been arguing since the 1990s in favor of a right to travel to seek an abortion, the last time the justices directly addressed the issue of a state’s power to punish crimes beyond its borders was … um … 1941.
In short, we can’t predict how a court would treat an effort by one state to bar its citizens from obtaining abortion in another. But one need not be pro-choice to see the strength of the argument against such a law.
Let’s start with a basic question: Can a state punish its citizens for breaking the state’s laws while beyond its boundaries? It would seem that
New abortion laws could see many women, doctors face criminal charges
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Period tracking apps, tele-health appointments, mail-in pharmacy requests and other data could be used as evidence in criminal cases for those involved in abortions, experts said.
States that have already passed laws redefining “personhood” to include an unborn child may mean people who seek out abortions or anyone helping them could face charges of feticide or aggravated assault, among other charges.
o date, more than 80 elected district attorneys and attorneys generals around the country, including in red states, have committed to using their discretion to not charge individuals or those who help them in ending a pregnancy should federal abortion rights be overturned.
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Lieke van der Velden, head of the firm’s corporate M&A group, and Sjoerd Meijer, head of the dispute resolution group, have been appointed as managing partners of NautaDutilh effective June 1, the firm has announced.
The two are joining Chris Warner on the board of management. The NautaDutilh board doesn’t have a chairman, instead operating as a collective.
Lieke van Der Velden joined the firm back in 1995, and was made a partner in 2005. She specialises in the financial sector, advising on international and domestic mergers and acquisitions. In 2016, she played an important role in the Vodafone and Liberty Global Netherlands merger,
Sjoerd Meijer joined NautaDutilh in 2008, and also became a partner in 2005. He advises and litigates in the areas of class action insurance and professional liability law, a practice which has seen exponential growth in the Netherlands over recent months.
Their predecessors, Jaap Jan Trommel and Petra Zijp who were appointed alongside Warner in 2017, will return to practice on a full-time basis.
In a statement by the firm, Chris Warner, congratulating the two on their appointment, said: “They are both leaders in their fields and genuinely nice
