Can Trump overturn Supreme Court abortion case Roe v. Wade? How?
Roe
While Trump once supported abortion  he has since reversed his position  saying in his first interview after winning the election that he wants to appoint "pro-life" judges with the goal of overturning Roe v. Wade. His highly conservative nominee to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat  Neil Gorsuch  is expected to try to carry out this mission.
Roe would likely fall in one of two ways  according to Dawn Johnsen  a constitutional scholar from Indiana University and the legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America from 1988 to 1993.
The most drastic way the court could get rid of  Roe  would be to overturn the case. The more likely scenario  however  would see the court letting  Roe  stand but incrementally upholding laws that restrict access  making abortions impossible to get â rendering the procedure virtually illegal over time.
Glenn Cohen  a health-law expert and professor at Harvard Law School  said two kinds of laws provide the most likely paths for SCOTUS to overturn or undermine Roe.
The gradual erosion of Roe v. Wade is a much more likely scenario for diminishing abortion access  according to Cohen  because Chief Justice John Roberts often plays the "long game." Roberts hasn't explicitly come out against  Roe  or abortion (as is tradition with justices)  but he has said he respects the precedence of  Roe  yet supported abortion restrictions in Supreme Court cases while on the bench.
What would happen if  Roe  were overturned?
If  Roe  fell  13 states have laws on the books banning abortion  so the practice would be illegal there immediately. Other states would likely act quickly to pass similar "trigger" laws.
That would likely become even more apparent if Roe fell.
How likely is it that  Roe  will be overturned?
Toti said she doesn't think  Roe  is in "any immediate jeopardy " largely because both the Supreme Court and a majority of Americans support abortion.
Pew Research Center polls have found that 59% of US adults today support the legality of abortion in general and 69% want the Supreme Court to uphold Roe â both numbers that have risen over time.
Even if the Senate approves Gorsuch's nomination  Toti said  the court will likely still have a 5-4 majority that would uphold Roe.
It will likely be some time before Gorsuch can actively participate in cases  as well. Toti estimated that the lengthy Senate approval process will sideline the new justice from deciding on cases until at least October 2017. And even if Gorsuch is aggressively anti-Roe  Trump would still need another justice to retire or die to shift the balance  an unlikely scenario in the next four years.
Not everyone is as optimistic as Toti. If Trump is elected for a second term  the chances of him choosing another justice go up â as do the chances of  Roe  falling.
"I am very pessimistic about it  and that's because I'm thinking about the range of ways  Roe  can fall that would not require the Supreme Court to actually say  'We are overruling  Roe v. Wade  '" Johnsen said. "We've seen the kinds of laws that would shut clinics  and ban abortions for reasons  and force women to be interrogated by their doctors â and that all could be upheld without the Supreme Court actually saying  'We're overruling  Roe v. Wade .'"
Erica Sackin  director of political communications for Planned Parenthood  told Business Insider that the healthcare provider is "absolutely gearing up for a huge fight " and that the wave of donations they received underline how many people support upholding Roe â including those who voted for Trump.
While Trump once supported abortion  he has since reversed his position  saying in his first interview after winning the election that he wants to appoint "pro-life" judges with the goal of overturning Roe v. Wade. His highly conservative nominee to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat  Neil Gorsuch  is expected to try to carry out this mission.
 [TGT]  would likely fall in one of two ways  according to Dawn Johnsen  a constitutional scholar from Indiana University and the legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America from 1988 to 1993.
The most drastic way the court could get rid of   [TGT] would be to overturn the case. The more likely scenario  however  would see the court letting   [TGT] stand but incrementally upholding laws that restrict access  making abortions impossible to get â rendering the procedure virtually illegal over time.
Glenn Cohen  a health-law expert and professor at Harvard Law School  said two kinds of laws provide the most likely paths for SCOTUS to overturn or undermine Roe.
The gradual erosion of Roe v. Wade is a much more likely scenario for diminishing abortion access  according to Cohen  because Chief Justice John Roberts often plays the "long game." Roberts hasn't explicitly come out against   [TGT] or abortion (as is tradition with justices)  but he has said he respects the precedence of   [TGT] yet supported abortion restrictions in Supreme Court cases while on the bench.
What would happen if   [TGT] were overturned?
If   [TGT] fell  13 states have laws on the books banning abortion  so the practice would be illegal there immediately. Other states would likely act quickly to pass similar "trigger" laws.
That would likely become even more apparent if Roe fell.
How likely is it that   [TGT] will be overturned?
Toti said she doesn't think   [TGT] is in "any immediate jeopardy " largely because both the Supreme Court and a majority of Americans support abortion.
Pew Research Center polls have found that 59% of US adults today support the legality of abortion in general and 69% want the Supreme Court to uphold Roe â both numbers that have risen over time.
Even if the Senate approves Gorsuch's nomination  Toti said  the court will likely still have a 5-4 majority that would uphold Roe.
It will likely be some time before Gorsuch can actively participate in cases  as well. Toti estimated that the lengthy Senate approval process will sideline the new justice from deciding on cases until at least October 2017. And even if Gorsuch is aggressively anti-Roe  Trump would still need another justice to retire or die to shift the balance  an unlikely scenario in the next four years.
Not everyone is as optimistic as Toti. If Trump is elected for a second term  the chances of him choosing another justice go up â as do the chances of   [TGT] falling.
"I am very pessimistic about  [TGT]   and that's because I'm thinking about the range of ways   [TGT] can fall that would not require the Supreme Court to actually say  'We are overruling  Roe v. Wade  '" Johnsen said. "We've seen the kinds of laws that would shut clinics  and ban abortions for reasons  and force women to be interrogated by their doctors â and that all could be upheld without the Supreme Court actually saying  'We're overruling  Roe v. Wade .'"
Erica Sackin  director of political communications for Planned Parenthood  told Business Insider that the healthcare provider is "absolutely gearing up for a huge fight " and that the wave of donations they received underline how many people support upholding Roe â including those who voted for Trump.