Abortion, Avarice, Affection: Widespread Polarisation In America After US Supreme Court's Draft Opinion Leaks; Midterms Mere Months Away

America continues to experience a tumultuous time after a draft opinion of Supreme Court related to Roe v. Wade leaked.

Brief Recap: On Monday, Politico published a leaked draft opinion of the US Supreme Court that indicated it would strike down Roe v. Wade. This would leave abortion legislation to individual states and make it harder for Americans to make life and death decisions on behalf of the unborn child. The decision of life and death is the most significant decision. Due to the unborn child's vulnerability, the unborn child has very little protection if the unborn child's mother herself decides that this life form must never see the world outside the womb as it would hinder the mother's priorities.

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court confirmed that the report was legitimate. They launched an investigation to decipher who orchestrated the leak.

Washington's reaction

Joe Biden claimed that overturning Roe v. Wade will create a slippery slope and may also threaten the right of same-sex marriage and birth control. Apart from his rhetoric, he didn't offer any rationale as to how these issues are related. President Biden has also claimed that striking Roe v. Wade represents a fundamental shift in American jurisprudence. He went on to say that, “I’m not willing to leave that to the whims of the public in local areas." He represents the Democratic Party. He doesn't want decisions to be left to 'the whims of the public'.

It is also worth flagging that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was a liberal appointment to the bench (appointed by Bill Clinton) and very much in favour of abortion, she herself was a critic of the Roe v. Wade judgment. Her view was that the judgment would be 'legally vulnerable'.

Republican lawmakers are more focused on the leak itself as it is quite extraordinary in America's legal history. Republicans believe that the leak is an attempt to pressurise the Supreme Court into passing a judgement which pleases the voter base of Democrats.

Reaction of corporate America

Most large corporations provide 'assistance' to women where there are restrictions on the ability of humans to make life and death decisions on behalf of the unborn.

Meta's (facebook's) COO Sheryl Sandberg posted on Facebook and Instagram that if the draft becomes reality, “one of our most fundamental rights will be taken away.”

Reaction of everyday Americans

Americans in favour of having rights that allows them to decide whether the unborn child should have a life or not, marched towards the Supreme Court building in US. Americans who believe that citizens mustn't be able to decide if the unborn child lives or dies, were largely happy, although admittedly bewildered by the reaction of those who they disagreed with.

The class divide and religious divide on this issue is also worth noting as it is quite pertinent. People who are from a humble background and religious are much more likely to believe that deciding whether the unborn child should live or die, is unethical. Whereas people who are privileged, are much more likely to believe that they have a right to decide if the unborn child should live or die, the life of the unborn is secondary, their convince is primary.

This might be a sign of how institutions, especially universities, be it in India or America, are effective in indoctrinating citizens, because it obviously isn't the case that universities provide knowledge and with the attainment of knowledge in university, people change their views. Terming the unborn child as a mere amalgamation of cells isn't scientific, it is an attempt at dehumanising the most innocent and vulnerable of all life forms.

A basic grasp of science without being coloured by lens of ideology would reveal that the unborn child develops heartbeat as early as week 5 and the unborn child's electrical brain activity can be detected as early as week 6. Of course the brain isn't fully developed yet, but the human brain actually takes quite a long time to develop. In fact until the age of 24, the brain's prefrontal cortex isn't fully developed. Surely we all have come across people who make us wonder if even after age of 24 it is fully developed.

The road ahead

The important midterm elections are coming up. They will be held in November. The issue of abortion will galvanise the Democrat voter base and help them in fundraising. Biden will try and lean into it to ensure that no one judges him for his performance as a president. The reason behind this is the fact that Biden and democrat strategists are quite aware of the reeling inflation in America.

If there isn't some other issue, such as a war in Europe or abortion in America, mid term elections will be held on the issue of inflation. This will drastically reduce the probability of democrats doing well in the mid terms, considering this administration's less than ideal performance (to put it delicately).

The republicans aren't a house untied either. Whilst heading into the mid terms, the essential question Republicans face is this - does Trump still have a meaningful influence of the Republican base or not. If he doesn't, Republicans will try to push forth a more establishment candidate for the 2024 elections. The midterms are a litmus test for Trump to prove that he still holds a sway over the electorate.

To be specific, it isn't Trump per say, but an ideology of nationalism and conservatism, driven by the realignment in American political economy. Those who had to bear the burden of globalisation, in other words. Are they the dominant base of the Republican electorate or not? This is the most prescient question.

There are some good signs for Mr. Trump and this base, which is much different from the base that Koch brothers and the self serving, corroding ideology of libertarianism they promoted. Primary season kicked off yesterday with a big win by JD Vance in the closely watched GOP Senate primary in Ohio. He was supported by Donald Trump and backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who is increasingly becoming sympathetic to the ideology of nationalism and conservatism.