Abortion now a huge US election issue

The US Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Roe-versus-Wade precedent to make abortion no longer a constitutional right may be a setback for the liberal values held by Democrats.

However, could this also be a blessing in disguise for the Democratic Party, which is seeking to retain control of Congress in the mid-term elections later this year when voters will elect all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate?

If not for the top court's controversial ruling, fast-rising living costs would surely have been the uppermost concern for American voters.

Super-inflation will continue to be the major concern of Americans but they now have one more thing to weigh when they vote on November 8.

In a 5-4 vote in favor of overturning Roe, the Supreme Court took away the right of American women to abortion before fetal viability that is presently determined medically at around 23-24 weeks of pregnancy.

That right, first established in the Roe-versus-Wade case precedent in 1973, had been challenged, affirmed and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court over the decades until the Mississippi state launched the challenge that led to last week's reversal.

If the mid-term elections end with the Democrats winning a majority in both chambers, the Supreme Court's controversial decision will have been a major factor.

The Democrats are strong supporters of abortion rights for women. And, as expected, President Joe Biden was swift to make a personal attack on his predecessor Donald Trump, accusing three justices appointed by the latter of being the core of the decision.

Trump claimed credit for the top court's decision, saying it was made possible because of his appointment of three conservative judges to the top court.

Following the decision, the power is returned to individual states - and about half of them intend to either ban abortions immediately or in the near future.

Women in these states may still undergo abortions but will have to travel to other states or Canada at high costs for the procedure where it is permitted.

If the Democrats lose control of Congress to the Republicans in November, it would be a tectonic shift towards conservative values in the US political establishment following on from the judiciary.

Instead, Americans may prefer a moderate approach featuring a balance of power.

In reversing the case precedent to make abortion no longer a constitutional right, the Supreme Court did not say anything to stop Congress from acting to codify access to abortion on the federal level if there is sufficient support to pass legislation in Congress.

It is likely that, after super-inflation, abortion will be a major election issue.

While super-inflation runs contrary to the interest of Biden's Democratic Party, voters will have to weigh this against handing control of Congress over to the Republicans, who may accelerate the conservative shift on the back of their recent abortion victory.

A CNN poll in May showed that 66 percent of Americans did not want the Supreme Court to overturn the right, with only 34 percent saying they wanted it to happen.