Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Wednesday in what has been called the most significant abortion case in nearly 50 years.
At the heart of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is a Mississippi law banning abortion at 15 weeks, the point in a pregnancy in which the state claims fetuses can feel pain.
Legally speaking, this law bans abortion before fetus viability in most cases, with there being a couple of exceptions such as medical emergencies or severe fetal abnormalities.
Fetal viability is defined as the ability of a fetus to survive outside the uterus and occurs sometime between 21 and 24 weeks. Fetal viability was at about 28 weeks when Roe was decided.
The ruling could overturn Roe v. Wade, and its successor case, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Both rulings recognize the constitutional right to receive an abortion until at least fetal viability.
“The Mississippi case could unravel what little is left of abortion access in states across the country.” — Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO of Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region
Several national media outlets indicated the justices appeared to be on the verge of ruling in favor of Mississippi, which would create a major shift in the nation’s abortion laws. However, those outlets noted oral arguments can be sometimes misleading in predicting how each justice will vote.
Former president Donald Trump appointed three people to the court during his term, vowing to appoint pro-life justices. They are Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Along with Trump’s appointees, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito have long opposed Roe v. Wade’s ruling.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan have repeatedly voted in favor of abortion rights and are expected to do so here. Justice Stephen Breyer has defended abortion rights in his previous rulings but, according to the AP, has acknowledged the controversy over abortion.
It is less clear how Chief Justice John Roberts will vote because while he has upheld abortion restrictions in the past he is also cautious when overturning legal precedent.
A ruling in the case is expected this summer.
This hearing comes just a few months after Texas enacted a law Sept. 1 prohibiting all abortions for a person who is more than six weeks into their pregnancy, becoming the country’s first six-week abortion ban to be enforced.
The law remains in effect as it also awaits a ruling from the Supreme Court after oral arguments challenging the law were heard Nov. 1. Legal experts expected the Supreme Court to rule on the Texas law before the Mississippi case, but that has not happened.
The law, as it stands, violates a person’s constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade.
It also triggered what pro-choice advocates feared would be a domino effect on abortion access in the Midwest.
Yamelsie Rodríguez, president and CEO of Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region said in September despite her organization’s best efforts, the injustice of the Texas law was that for far too many patients, traveling out of state would push access out of reach altogether.
“The Mississippi case could unravel what little is left of abortion access in states across the country,” she said in a statement Wednesday. “People who walk into our health centers for abortion services come to us as an act of basic health care, not politics. That’s what we’re collectively fighting for — basic rights and freedoms, including the right to decide if and when to become a parent, for all people no matter who they are, how much money they earn, or where they live.”
