There may finally be hope for those who have worked tirelessly for years to challenge Roe v. Wade, a law legalizing abortion and infamously implemented in the United States in 1973.
The U.S. Supreme Court released a statement Monday saying that it will hear arguments Dec. 1 in a landmark case from Mississippi that could overturn the decades-old law. The case tests whether all state laws that ban pre-viability abortions are unconstitutional, many media outlets are reporting.
Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health centers on a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Fox News reported that the “law in question challenges the court’s previous ruling in Roe v. Wade and subsequent cases by imposing a restriction on abortion earlier than the recognized point of fetal viability—when a baby would be able to survive outside the womb—at approximately 24 weeks into pregnancy.
The high court’s announcement came weeks after it allowed Texas to move forward with a new law to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which usually happens after six weeks of pregnancy.
Mississippi is one of several conservative states that, within the past year, have passed laws seeking to eliminate or severely restrict abortion. CBNC.com reported that “bans on pre-viability, have been struck down, until now, in a dozen states since 2019, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Tennessee.”
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Supreme Court justices this fall will hear oral arguments for the first time since 2020.
CNBC.com reported that, “with six conservative justices now occupying the bench, advocates say the threats to Roe v. Wade are now greater than they have been in years.” The site also reported that the Biden administration said, in a statement, will continue to back the Women’s Health Protection act, a bill that would shield abortion rights across the country.
“In the wake of Texas’ unprecedented attack, it has never been more important to codify this constitutional right and to strengthen health care access for all women, regardless where they live,” Biden’s Office of Management and Budget said. “We will not allow this country to go backwards on women’s equality.”
The Supreme Court may just have something to say about that in December. {eoa}
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