Eliminating Federal Abortion Protections Could Render the U.S. Government Illegitimate

If the Supreme Court overturns Roe Vs. Wade and Planned Parenthood Vs. Casey, it could lead to a legitimacy crisis unlike anything we’ve seen. This isn’t politics — it’s math.

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In the wake of the leak that showed the U.S. Supreme Court intends to overturn federal abortion protections, the world has reacted with shock and awe. Millions of people are experiencing a troubling collection of emotions right now, ranging from sadness to fear, from rage to despair.

From the lofty heights of the Supreme Court bench, the highest court in the land, the question is purely legal, and, let’s be real here, the personal political beliefs of the court members are certainly playing a role.

But down here on the ground on planet earth, people are fearful of the ramifications of such an action, should the court take it. Stripping abortion protections would trigger abortion bans in many U.S. States the moment the two primary judgments— Roe Vs. Wade and Planned Parenthood Vs. Casey — were repealed.

These so-called “trigger laws” are outright bans on abortion, bans that don’t include exemptions for things like rape, incest, or even to save the mother's life. They’re called “trigger laws” because the laws were drafted, and now they sit and wait for the Supreme Court to repeal federal protections, which will serve as a trigger to cause a massive banning of abortion across the United States.

Twenty-three states would implement outright abortion bans. Thirteen states already have the laws written. They’re waiting for their moment.

Once that happens, tens of millions of men, women, and families won’t have the option to get an abortion, even in the most extreme of circumstances.

Here’s a possibility:

• A man’s wife is headed home from work, and a masked stranger follows her to her car and rapes her at gunpoint. She gets pregnant. The couple can’t jointly decide to terminate the pregnancy. They’ll be forced to spend the next nine months dealing with the aftermath every day while she’s forced to carry the baby to term…