On this Wednesday, May 4, edition of Sundial:
SCOTUS' leaked draft on Roe v. Wade
A leaked draft opinion by the nation's highest court indicates a possible overturning of Roe v. Wade.
That landmark case confirmed the right to access to abortion in the United States. A reversal of this kind would give states the power to individually decide the legality of this procedure.
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“The draft that we all saw said unambiguously Roe was egregious from the day it was decided and we are overruling it now,” said University of Miami College of Law professor Caroline Mala Corbin, who joined Sundial to discuss how this would impact Florida.
“It's written as the majority, so there are at least five justices who seem to be, at least at that first vote, willing to eliminate constitutional protection entirely. Although, again, it's important to note that this is just an initial draft and not yet the official ruling,” she said, adding that she suspects a reversal of Roe v. Wade to be highly likely and could even come sometime this summer.
Corbin specializes in constitutional law and has a background in reproductive rights.
Plans to end Title 42
The Biden administration is hoping to wind down an immigration policy that allowed the U.S. Border Patrol to turn away hundreds of thousands of migrants attempting to enter the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border during the pandemic.
It’s called Title 42. It was launched by the Trump Administration at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued under the Biden Administration.
What would the end of this policy mean for people living here, in South Florida?
In Palm Beach County, especially in areas with higher numbers of undocumented immigrants like Pahokee and Belle Glade, this policy shift could change things for families who have been separated by the immigration system.
Adriana Gonzalez is a law partner at Gonzalez & Cartwright, P.A., which has offices in Palm Beach County and Pompano Beach. She joined Sundial to talk about how these policies affect the community and her clients, who are often undocumented immigrants.
“That's really what our immigration system is right now. It's like a miracle. You need a miracle in order to get legal status. And so whenever people talk about, ‘why don't you just get in line or why don't you just do it the right way?’ There is no line. There is no way to do it the right way. And it's something that we definitely have to fix,” Gonzalez said.
Latin America’s Cryptopia
It started in El Salvador when it became the first Latin country to make Bitcoin part of its currency.
Now, Panama and Brazil are considering it. These same world leaders have dreams of creating Bitcoin Cities and crypto-utopias, or cryptopias — places whose economies rely solely on bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
"A study reports what little bitcoin usage there is in El Salvador is among folks who are educated, middle class and in the banking system. So, not much democratization of money going on there," writes WLRN’s Americas Editor, Tim Padgett.
He joined Sundial to discuss the push for these digital currencies in Latin America and South Florida. Find more of his reporting on this story here.
