WASHINGTON: The Supreme Court is poised to strike down the right to abortion in the United States, according to a leaked draft of a majority opinion that would shred nearly 50 years of constitutional protections.
The draft opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito and has been circulating inside the conservative-dominated court since February, the news outlet Politico reported.
The leak of a draft opinion while a case is still pending is an extraordinary breach of Supreme Court secrecy.
The 98-page draft majority opinion calls the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision enshrining the right to abortion “egregiously wrong from the start.”
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Alito writes in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court” and published on Politico’s website. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
In Roe v. Wade, the nation’s highest court held that access to abortion is a woman’s constitutional right.
In a 1992 ruling, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court guaranteed a woman’s right to an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, which is typically around 22 to 24 weeks of gestation.
“Abortion presents a profound moral question,” Alito wrote. “The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each state from regulating or prohibiting abortion.
“The inescapable conclusion is that a right to an abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions,” he said.
Reproductive rights have been increasingly under threat in the United States in recent months as Republican-led states move to tighten restrictions with some seeking to ban all abortions after six weeks, before many women even know they are pregnant.
Right-wing politicians have launched an assault on abortion, with Democrats, led by President Joe Biden, fighting back to protect access to the procedure.
In December, hearing oral arguments about a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared inclined to not only uphold the law but to toss out Roe v. Wade.
The nine-member court, dominated 6-3 by conservatives following the nomination of three justices by former president Donald Trump, is expected to issue a decision in the Mississippi case by June.
Politico, citing a person familiar with the court’s deliberations, said four other conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — had voted with Alito, the author of the first draft of the majority opinion.
It said the three liberal justices on the court were working on a dissent and it was unknown how Chief Justice John Roberts would ultimately vote.
Politico stressed that the document it obtained is a draft and justices do sometimes change their votes before a final ruling.
The leak of a draft opinion is extraordinary while a case is still being decided. Politico said it was the first time in modern history a draft opinion had been disclosed publicly.
“This is the equivalent of the Pentagon Papers leak, but at the Supreme Court,” said Neil Katyal, who served as solicitor general under president Barack Obama, in a reference to the leaked documents outlining US involvement in Vietnam.
“I’m pretty sure there has never ever been such a leak.”
Asked about the draft being circulated, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said: “The Court has no comment.”
The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group, has said that 26 states are “certain or likely” to ban abortion if the Roe is overturned.
Liberal states that decide to do so could still legally allow abortion even if the court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Planned Parenthood, which operates abortion clinics around the country, said the draft opinion is “outrageous” but cautioned that it “is not final.”
“While abortion is still legal, tonight’s report makes clear that our deepest fears are coming true,” it added. “We have reached a crisis moment for abortion access.”
A number of Democratic lawmakers took to Twitter to express concern about the threat to abortion rights.
“An extremist Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and impose its far-right, unpopular views on the entire country,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Josh Hawley, a conservative Republican senator from Missouri, welcomed the Politico report.
“If this is the Court’s opinion, it’s a heck of an opinion,” Hawley said. “Voluminously researched, tightly argued, and morally powerful.”
Leaked draft shows US court set to strike down abortion rights: Politico
https://arab.news/mymqb
Leaked draft shows US court set to strike down abortion rights: Politico

- Draft opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito and has been circulating inside the conservative-dominated court since February
Europe’s top human rights court is set to rule on cases against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine
Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will rule on four cases, brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia, marking the first time an international court will adjudicate Russian culpability for the wider conflict in Ukraine dating from 2014.
Any decision will be largely symbolic. The complaints were brought before the court’s governing body expelled Moscow in 2022, following the full-scale invasion.
Families of the victims of the MH17 disaster see the decision as an important milestone in their 11-year quest for justice.
“It’s a real step in understanding who was really responsible,” Thomas Schansman, who lost his 18-year-old son Quinn in the tragedy, told The Associated Press.
The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, using a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels. All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.
In May, the UN’s aviation agency found Russia responsible for the disaster.
The ECHR is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the continent’s foremost human rights institution. Russia was expelled from the council over Moscow’s invasion and war in Ukraine. However, the court can still deal with cases against Russia dating from before its expulsion.
In 2023, the judges sided with Ukraine and the Netherlands in a challenge over jurisdiction, finding there was sufficient evidence to show areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels were “under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation,” including providing weapons, and giving political and economic support.
Wednesday’s ruling won’t be the last from the EHCR dealing with the war. Kyiv has other cases pending against Russia and there are nearly 10,000 cases brought by individuals against the Kremlin.
The decisions in Strasbourg are separate from a criminal prosecution in the Netherlands in which two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel were convicted in absentia of multiple murders for their roles in the downing of Flight MH17.
Meanwhile, in 2022, the United Nations’ top court ordered Russia to stop military operations in Ukraine while a case is heard, a process that takes years. Russia has flouted the order by the International Court of Justice.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally approved plans to set up a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Schansman, who has also brought an individual case to the ECHR, has no plans to stop pursuing justice, more than a decade after his son’s death. “The worst thing we could to is stop fighting,” he told AP. “MH17 is not a case that will disappear for Russia.”
Russian FM Lavrov to visit North Korea this weekend

- Russia's security chief Sergei Shoigu has visited Pyongyang multiple times this year
SEOUL: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea this weekend, state media reported, the latest in a series of high-profile visits by top Moscow officials as the two countries deepen military ties.
Lavrov "will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from July 11 to 13 at the invitation of the DPRK Foreign Ministry," the official Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday.
Russia's security chief Sergei Shoigu has visited Pyongyang multiple times this year, including last month, when the two countries marked the one year anniversary of the signing of a sweeping military pact.
The two heavily-sanctioned nations signed the military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the nuclear-armed North.
Pyongyang has become one of Moscow's main allies during its more than three-year-long Ukraine offensive, sending thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help the Kremlin oust Ukrainian forces from Kursk region.
Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said, with Shoigu announcing in Pyongyang last month that the nuclear-armed North would send builders and deminers to Kursk.
North Korea only confirmed it had deployed troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine in April, and admitted that its soldiers had been killed in combat.
Leader Kim Jong Un has subsequently been shown in state media images honouring the flag-draped coffins of North Korean soldiers killed helping Russia fight Ukraine.
China says EU ‘mentality’, not trade, needs to be rebalanced

- EU chief Ursula von der Leyen remarked the EU would seek to rebalance economic ties with China, demanding it eases market access for European firms and loosen export controls on rare earths
BEIJING: Beijing said on Wednesday that the European Union needed to rebalance its “mentality,” not its economic ties with China, ahead of a summit between the two this month.
“It is hoped that the European side realizes that what needs to be rebalanced right now is Europe’s mentality, not China-EU economic and trade relations,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday the EU would seek to rebalance economic ties with China, demanding it eases market access for European firms and loosen export controls on rare earths.
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, von der Leyen said Beijing was running the largest trade surplus “in the history of mankind” exporting vast amounts to the EU while making it harder for European companies to do business in China.
The trade deficit between China and the EU was a yawning $357 billion in 2024.
The commission leader, who will travel to Beijing with European Council President Antonio Costa, said the pair will seek to loosen export restrictions on rare earths — while Brussels also looks at “developing alternative supply resources.”
Beijing snapped back on Wednesday, saying that in the “current turbulent situation,” the bloc and China should “properly handle divergences and frictions.”
“We hope that the European Union will truly establish a more objective and rational understanding of China and pursue a more positive and pragmatic China policy,” Mao said.
Taiwan kicks off military drills in face of China threat

- The self ruled island faces the constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it
TAIPEI: Taiwan kicked off its largest military drills Wednesday with regular troops joined by a record mobilization of reservists for 10 days of training aimed at defending against a Chinese invasion.
The annual “Han Kuang” exercises, which are being held at the same time as civilian defense drills, will run from July 9-18 and feature newly delivered US high-tech rocket systems.
The self-ruled island democracy faces the constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it.
Chinese military pressure has intensified in recent years, with Beijing deploying fighter jets and warships around the island on a near-daily basis.
In the lead-up to the drills Wednesday, Taiwan detected 31 sorties by Chinese military aircraft and seven warships around the island in the 24 hours to 6:00 am (2200 GMT Tuesday), according to the defense ministry.
Taiwan has boosted defense spending and acquired smaller and more nimble weaponry, including drones, to enable its military to wage asymmetric warfare against its more powerful foe.
Twenty-two thousand reservists — the largest ever call-up — are participating in this year’s drills, having begun a training program Saturday.
Reservist training includes familiarization with rifles, squad and platoon machine guns, and tactical maneuvers.
“Because these reservists have been discharged and away for a long time, upon return they need to undergo specialty refresher training,” said an army officer who asked not to be named.
On Wednesday, reservists wearing camouflage uniforms, helmets and boots were put through their paces, practicing cleaning, assembling and aiming 65K2 rifles and machine guns.
Taipei is eager to show the world, especially its key security backer Washington, that it is serious about boosting its military capability.
The drills will “let the international community know that we are determined to defend ourselves, and to pass on to China that the nation’s military has the confidence and ability to defend a free and democratic life,” Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo said recently.
This year’s drills have been extended to 10 days and nine nights, from five days and four nights last year.
The Han Kuang began in 1984 when the island was still under martial law.
Troops will simulate various scenarios including “grey zone harassment” — tactics that fall short of an act of war — as well as “long-range precision strikes” to combat a Chinese invasion in 2027, defense officials have said.
Officials in the United States — Taipei’s biggest arms supplier — have previously cited 2027 as a possible timeline for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Recently delivered High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the United States will be used during the drills.
There will also be a separate live fire event involving US-made advanced M1A2 Abrams tanks.
Taiwanese defense officials have been closely monitoring the war in Ukraine and their use of a decentralized command and control structure.
“When we think practically about combat, we consider what kind of scenario Taiwan might face,” a senior defense official said on the eve of the drills.
“Commanders at all levels need to be able to decide what to do based on their understanding of their superior’s intent. This usually requires peacetime training to build up their awareness in this regard.”
The exercises are being held as President Lai Ching-te, who is a staunch defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty, tours the island delivering speeches aimed at “uniting the country.”
China has carried out several large-scale military drills around Taiwan since Lai took office last year, as the island rejects China’s sovereignty stance.
China specialists at risk analysis firm Eurasia Group said Beijing was “likely” to carry out more military exercises at the end of July.
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A wildfire that reached Marseille is pushed back but not extinguished

- Spurred by hot summer winds, the fire grounded all flights to and from Marseille and halted train traffic in most of the surrounding area
MARSEILLE: A wildfire that reached France's second-largest city and left 110 injured was pushed back overnight but was not yet extinguished Wednesday, authorities said. Marseille's mayor lifted a confinement order for tens of thousands of people.
Mayor Benoit Payan said on broadcaster France-Info that the fire was in ‘’net regression'' Wednesday morning after racing toward the historic Mediterranean port city Tuesday, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate and the population of an entire city district to barricade themselves indoors on official orders.
Spurred by hot summer winds, the fire grounded all flights to and from Marseille and halted train traffic in most of the surrounding area Tuesday. Train, road and plane traffic remained complicated Wednesday.
The mayor said 110 people were treated for smoke inhalation and related injuries.
More than 1,000 firefighters were deployed to tackle the fire, which broke out near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau before racing toward Marseille. Some 720 hectares were hit by the blaze, the prefecture said.
The prefecture described the fire as ’’particularly virulent.″ It came on a cloudless, windy day after a lengthy heat wave around Europe left the area parched and at heightened risk for wildfires. Several have broken out in southern France in recent days, including one in the Aude region that has burned some 2,000 hectares and continued to rage Wednesday.
Light gray smoke gave the sky over Marseille’s old port a dusty aspect as water-dropping planes tried to extinguish the fire in the outskirts of the city, which has some 900,000 inhabitants.