A demonstrator holds up a coat hanger, a symbol of the reproductive rights movement, and a sign reads "Never Again" as pro-choice protesters gather in large numbers in front of the federal building to defend abortion rights in San Francisco on May 3, 2022. Photo: AFP

Unbelievably, freedom of abortion suddenly became a topic of fierce debate in US society in 2022. On Monday, Politico cited a leaked draft of a Supreme Court ruling as reporting that the court may be poised to "strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision," meaning that abortion rights in the US, which have stood legally for 49 years, may be overturned. The report ignited discussion on whether Washington will take this astonishing backward step for women's rights and triggered emerging protests across the country. 

The document is authentic but not final, John Roberts, chief justice of the Supreme Court responded on Tuesday, adding the leak will be put under investigation. On the same day, US President Joe Biden called for congressional action to protect abortion rights. 

It is worth noting that five conservative justices of the total nine justices, appointed by Republican presidents, voted to overrule abortion?rights. Apparently, this is a move made by the political legacy of former president Donald Trump - a conservative, Republican-dominated Supreme Court - to attempt to shape the future US political landscape, which will be bound to trigger a full-scale counterattack from the Democrats. Unfortunately, American women's rights will become the victim when the pendulum swings back and forth between US liberals and conservatives, Xu Liang, an associate professor at the School of International Relations of Beijing International Studies University, told the Global Times. 

Given moral, legal, and religious factors, Americans remain long divided in their views on abortion, with the two opposite groups calling themselves "pro-life" and "pro-choice." The two confronting stances have also been tightly bound up with the major parties. As a result, numerous political figures, even presidential candidates, have to make clear their abortion attitude during election campaigns. 

The Republican Party, whose voters are mostly conservative, has been focusing on promoting abortion bans. The leaked draft may signal that the Republican force is about to take advantage of its dominant position in the Supreme Court to overturn the historical judgment on abortion, offering a new weapon for conservatives while consolidating its voter base, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. 

The November midterm elections are approaching, and it is predicted that the two parties will seize the abortion issue to fight for support. But conservatives are eyeing not just the midterm elections, but the next general presidential election.

If Roe v. Wade is eventually overturned, the nearly 50-year legal abortion rights in the US will crumble, and the US' history of progress in defending women's rights will be reversed. Unfortunately, US political forces do not care. All they are concerned about is whether the issue would bring them benefits, regardless of the fact that their increasingly radical stances may trigger deeper and bitterer divisions in American society. 

The leak could be intentional, like flying a trial balloon to test American society's response, so that the conservatives could be prepared for promoting an official law, according to Xu. This is a sensitive issue. "If they formally approve the draft first and then announce it to the public, it will be like throwing an atomic bomb into US society, causing huge waves of upheavals, creating another Black Lives Matter movement," Xu said. 

More importantly, when bringing discussions about abortion half century ago back to the spotlight again, the US is displaying to the world that it may be stepping on the path of heading toward regression and ignorance amid the fierce political infighting. 

Be it gun control or abortion, liberals and conservatives are pushing their respective agendas to the extreme, which could more and more deform US society, Lü said. 

The Supreme Court's draft on abortion may not be passed in the end, as it could possibly face the fate of being overthrown by the Democratic-controlled Congress through constitutional amendments, or through abortion rights movements, according to Xu. 

Nevertheless, drastic social turbulence may already be on the way. And the world has gained an impression - the US' soft power is declining, as is its hard power, thanks to its political struggles.