The US Supreme Court’s conservative majority have signalled they will allow states to ban abortion much earlier in pregnancy and may even overturn the nationwide right that has existed for nearly 50 years.
The US Supreme Court’s conservative majority have signalled they will allow states to ban abortion much earlier in pregnancy and may even overturn the nationwide right that has existed for nearly 50 years. W ith hundreds of demonstrators outside chanting for and against, the justices led arguments that could decide the fate of the court’s historic 1973 Roe vs Wade decision legalising abortion throughout the US and its 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood vs Casey, which reaffirmed Roe. The outcome will probably not be known until next June, but after nearly two hours of arguments, all six conservative justices, including three appointed by former president Donald Trump, indicated they would uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. At the least, such a decision would undermine Roe and Casey, which allow states to regulate but not ban abortion up until the point of foetal viability, at roughly 24 weeks. There was also substantial support among the conservative justices for getting rid of Roe and Casey altogether.
