Pro-life and pro-abortion advocates outside of the Supreme Court during oral arguments in the case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, March 2, 2016. / Catholic News AgencyOn December 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a landmark case that directly contested Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion in all 50 states.
The court’s decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey and gave the decision back to the states, was made public on June 24, 2022.
What you need to know is as follows:
1. What was the case about, exactly?
The 2018 Mississippi statute limiting most abortions after 15 weeks was at issue in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization lawsuit.
The Mississippi State Department of Health’s state health officer, Thomas E. Dobbs, is referred to as “Dobbs.” The only abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi is located in Jackson and offers abortion services.
The lawsuit concentrated on whether states can outlaw abortion before a fetus can survive outside the womb and if all pre-viability restrictions on elective abortions are unlawful.
The case opposes the precedent-setting abortion rulings Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which Mississippi claims “egregiously incorrect.”
2. Why was the case against Roe and Casey challenging?
In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decided that states could not restrict access to abortion before viability, which it found to be between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which was heard nearly 20 years later, the court upheld Roe.
The court defined a “undue hardship” as “a major hurdle in the way of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus” in its 1992 decision, which stated that states might regulate pre-viability abortions but could not impose this burden.
The Gestational Age Act of Mississippi, which is the focus of the Dobbs case, outlaws abortions weeks before the moment of viability.
“Can a State ban elective abortions before viability under the Constitution? In its brief, Mississippi makes this claim. “Why? Because there is no justification for an abortion right in the constitutional text, structure, history, or tradition.
3. Who presented the matter to the judge?
In December 2021, three people addressed the justices. Mississippi’s solicitor general, Scott G. Stewart, had 35 minutes to speak on behalf of the state.
Julie Rikelman, the litigation director for the Center for Reproductive Rights, was granted 20 minutes to speak for the Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. Solicitor General, was given 15 minutes to defend the Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
4. How can Americans learn about or comprehend the ideas presented?
An audio recording and transcripts of the arguments are available on the Supreme Court website.
5. What was the June judgment of the Court?
An abrupt and dramatic end to nearly 50 years of widespread permitted abortion in the U.S. was brought about by the Supreme Court’s momentous 6-3 ruling on Friday.
“A significant moral dilemma is raised by abortion. The residents of each State are free to regulate or forbid abortion, as long as they comply with the Constitution.
Roe and Casey abused that power “The view is expressed. We immediately overturn these judgments and hand back power to the people and their elected officials.
The ruling does not uphold the constitutional right to life of an unborn child and neither does it forbid or make abortion illegal. But in one fell swoop, the court’s move dismantles long-standing legal obstacles that for decades prevented states like Mississippi from severely regulating or outlawing the murdering of unborn children in the womb.
These obstacles were constructed and strictly enforced by the federal judiciary.
For the Catholic Church and the larger pro-life movement in the United States, who have laboriously sought Roe’s overturn since the historic 7-2 decision was rendered on Jan. 19, 1973, the judgement represents a turning point.
What follows now?
With a few exceptions, abortion is now wholly prohibited in more than a dozen states, while several other states in the union have passed legislation to safeguard abortion within their borders.
Although early polling indicates that economic issues like inflation may have a bigger impact than abortion, abortion has the potential to be a significant issue in the November elections in the United States.
Roe v. Wade has already been attempted to be codified into federal law, but these efforts have so far failed. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, has joined all of the Senate Republicans in opposing these efforts.
Political analysts have conjectured that Democrats might not have enough support to approve a codification of Roe v. Wade even if they repealed the filibuster rule, which takes 60 votes to break a filibuster from the minority.
A federal law trying to codify abortion rights may also be struck down by the Supreme Court in light of the Dobbs decision.