On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had established a constitutional right to abortion. The vote was 6–3. Five justices — Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett — voted to overturn. Roberts concurred in the judgment but would have upheld the Mississippi law without overturning Roe entirely. Fifty years of precedent. Gone.
The Trump Factor
This ruling was possible because of one man. Donald Trump appointed three of the six justices in the majority: Neil Gorsuch (2017), Brett Kavanaugh (2018), and Amy Coney Barrett (2020). Barrett’s seat was filled just eight days before the 2020 election, replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in a process so rushed that it reversed the precedent Republicans themselves had set when they refused to hold hearings for Merrick Garland in 2016 because it was “too close to an election” — nine months before Election Day.
Trump had promised to appoint justices who would overturn Roe. He did. They did. He then took credit for it. Then he tried to distance himself from it when he realized it was politically toxic.
Justice Alito wrote for the majority: “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” The decision overturned both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), ending nearly 50 years of precedent.
What Happened Next
The impact was immediate. Thirteen states had “trigger bans” — laws designed to automatically ban or severely restrict abortion the moment Roe fell. Within hours, clinics in those states stopped performing abortions. Within weeks, more states passed additional restrictions. Within a year, abortion was banned or severely restricted in at least 21 states.
Women in banned states had to travel hundreds of miles to access care. Emergency rooms turned away patients with pregnancy complications, afraid of legal liability. Doctors in Texas and Idaho reported being unable to treat ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages under the new laws. A 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio had to travel to Indiana to terminate a pregnancy. The attorney general of Ohio initially called the story “fabricated” until the rapist was arrested and confessed.
The Leak
The country got a warning. On May 2, 2022, Politico published a leaked draft of Alito’s majority opinion. It was the first time in modern history that a full draft Supreme Court opinion had been leaked. The reaction was massive — protests outside the Court, calls for legislation, panic at clinics. Chief Justice Roberts confirmed the draft was authentic and ordered an investigation into the leak. The investigation found nothing conclusive. The leaker was never identified. And the final ruling tracked the draft almost exactly.
Bottom Line
Donald Trump promised to overturn Roe v. Wade. He appointed three justices. They voted to overturn it. That’s not conspiracy theory — it’s the stated plan, executed as promised. The result: millions of women lost access to reproductive healthcare, doctors faced criminal liability for treating patients, and states imposed bans with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother. Trump took credit when it served him and ran from it when it didn’t. The justices he appointed will serve for decades. The damage is generational.
Sources
- Supreme Court of the United States: Full opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, June 24, 2022.
- Politico: Leaked draft opinion, “Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights,” May 2, 2022.
- Guttmacher Institute: Trigger ban analysis and state-by-state impact.
- Associated Press: Roe overturned coverage and immediate state reactions, June 24, 2022.