The U.S. Supreme Court will embark Monday on the first chapter of a legal saga over abortion that could see the nationwide right to …
The U.S. Supreme Court will embark Monday on the first chapter of a legal saga over abortion that could see the nationwide right to the procedure sharply limited in coming months. It will mark a fresh legal look at a socially divisive issue, with a 6-3 conservative high court majority poised for a politically-charged ruling. The justices over the next month will hear separate challenges to restrictions on abortion access enacted by Mississippi – with its ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy – and Texas – with a more restrictive six-week ban. The Texas dispute will be heard first, in two hours of oral arguments Monday, which will be more procedural in nature, and not likely to address the key question of whether the state law’s restrictions on most abortions are constitutional. That high-stakes debate will happen Dec.1, when Mississippi’s law will be argued before the nine justices. The state wants key Supreme Court precedents permitting abortions, known as Roe (1973) and Casey (1992) – struck down entirely. The opportunity for a sweeping pivot on abortion – at a time when the high court’s own reputation and legitimacy is threatened – could be tempered by an unpredictable, cautious court that has shown it is not always eager to speak along sharp ideological lines. That may produce split rulings, with uncertain lasting impact. “I’m sure that the chief justice would rather go fairly slowly. That tends to be his inclination in these situations,” said Paul Smith, a Georgetown University law professor and appellate attorney who has argued frequently before the justices. “But there will be some justices who are impatient to get to the final determination of the validity of Roe. I could imagine a situation where you have three liberals saying those should be upheld; three saying we don’t need to address that question yet; and three saying it obviously should be overruled.” Besides Chief Justice John Roberts, much of the focus at arguments will be on two of former President Donald Trump’s picks: Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Their questioning of counsel could signal whether a compromise approach is possible. The Texas law known as SB 8 would ban most abortions at about six weeks, when a fetal heartbeat may be detected. The high court for now will keep the statute in effect while legal challenges continue in lower courts. Many of the roughly two dozen abortion clinics in Texas say they have turned away patients, forcing some women to go out-of-state for the procedure, or unwillingly continue their pregnancy. GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law this spring, and while it allows abortions for “medical emergencies,” there are no exceptions for rape or incest.
