“The conclusion that abortion is a constitutional right has no basis in text, structure, history or tradition,” Attorney General Lynn Fitch told the judges in a new pleading that started the opening salvo in the most important abortion dispute the court has heard in decades. Roe v. Wade is the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide before viability, which can occur at the 24th week of pregnancy. The case rekindles the abortion debate and comes as states across the country, encouraged by the Conservative majority and the admission of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, pass increasingly restrictive abortion-related rules in hopes of curbing constitutional law that does first established in 1973 in Roe and reaffirmed in 1992 when the Planned Parenthood v. Casey. imposed.
The judges pondered for months whether to take up the Mississippi dispute, finally announced their decision last spring, sending shockwaves through abortion law advocates who fear the conservative majority – reinforced by three President Donald Trump appointed – Upside down has long been established constitutional protections for access to abortion.
Oral arguments are likely to be heard in late fall or early winter, with a decision expected in June next year before the mid-term elections.
Now that Mississippi has taken the step to call on judges to break precedents, all eyes will be on the Conservatives to see how far they are willing to go. In June 2020, Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the Liberals to block a controversial law in Louisiana, but critically left the possibility that other states might pursue similar restrictions in different circumstances.
On the other side of the conservative spectrum, Judge Clarence Thomas, in contradiction, reiterated his belief that Roe “is seriously wrong for many reasons.”
The three Liberals, led by Judge Stephen Breyer, who has previously opposed Liberal demands for resignation, will try to limit the decision and maintain as much precedent as possible.
Blocked from lower courts and arguments about viability
Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, passed in 2018 but blocked by two federal courts, allows 15-week abortions “only in medical emergencies or in severe fetal abnormalities” and makes no exception for rape or incest. If doctors perform abortions outside of the legal requirements, their medical license will be suspended or withdrawn and additional penalties and fines may be punished.
Fitch said the law had reasonably legitimate interests in the protection of unborn life, women’s health and the integrity of the medical profession, adding, “It is therefore constitutional.”
A district court blocked the law in a decision upheld by a federal appeals court.
“In a continuous line that points to Roe v. Wade goes back, the Supreme Court’s abortion cases established (and confirmed and reaffirmed) a woman’s right to choose an abortion before viability, ”a jury of the 5th said in December 2019.“ States can regulate abortion procedures before they are feasible, as long as they do not ban abortion ”, the court ruled and concluded that“ the law at issue is a prohibition ”.
Republican Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves has said the law is a “vehicle” for the Supreme Court to re-examine Roe against Wade.
“The question is not whether you are going to tip Roe v. Wade, the question is: Science has changed and so it makes sense for the court to review its past decisions and this is a vehicle for doing so . ” “Reeves told CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union last month.
Fitch suggested that the court no longer consider viability as a dividing line when a state can regulate the process. She argued on Thursday that medical knowledge and “factual developments” had now “fallen below” this limit.
“Scientific advances show that an unborn child has assumed human form and is showing months before it is viable,” she said in the complaint, adding that “States should be able to respond to these developments.”
The Center for Reproductive Rights represents the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the only licensed abortion facility in Mississippi, and the clinic’s medical director, Carr-Ellis cases that are challenging the law. The center’s attorneys will respond to the Mississippi appeal later this year.
Last year the group urged judges to uphold the opinion of the lower courts, arguing that the Supreme Court precedent makes it clear that before viability, “it is up to the pregnant person, and not the state, to make the final decision as to whether or not they.” continued pregnancy. “
This story has been updated with additional details.
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