Ramesh Ponnuru, Columnist

What’s Not Going to Happen After Roe Falls

Abortion isn't going to be banned nationally, and major Supreme Court precedents on contraception and gay rights are safe.

May 5, 2022 at 10:30 AM UTC

By Ramesh Ponnuru

Ramesh Ponnuru is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the editor of National Review and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Up to a point, maybe.
Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg

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Since someone leaked a draft of the Supreme Court’s opinion in this year’s big abortion case, two questions have emerged about the scope of conservative policy goals. Will Republicans try to ban abortion by federal statute if Roe v. Wade is overruled, or leave the issue to the states? And will the Republican appointees on the Supreme Court overturn other precedents with a family resemblance to the 1973 abortion-rights ruling?

In both cases, there are reasons to expect circumstances to block conservative ambitions.