The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday set the date of December 1st to hear the case about a Mississippi abortion law that …
The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday set the date of December 1st to hear the case about a Mississippi abortion law that directly challenges Roe v. Wade, a ruling on which could alter the trajectory of future abortion laws across the country. The Mississippi case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, has to do with a law banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Based on previous rulings from the court, states are required to allow pre-viability abortions, which occur before a fetus can survive on its own outside the womb – typically around 20 weeks of pregnancy. When it agreed to hear the case in May, the high court granted review of the question, “Whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional,” meaning that if the court sides with Mississippi, states would potentially be allowed to decide their own abortion laws. States could once again place their own restrictions on abortions – possibly even up to the point of conception. The Mississippi law is a direct confrontation to the pre-viability requirement. On agreeing to hear the case, the court implied it would make a decision on all pre-viability abortion laws.
