Bloomberg Quicktake: Now published this video item, entitled “Protests Outside Supreme Court Ahead of Abortion Showdown” – below is their description.
The most consequential abortion case in a generation comes before the Supreme Court today, as the justices weigh Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and consider gutting the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling.
Even if the court doesn’t explicitly overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, a decision upholding Mississippi’s law would have a far-reaching impact. It would give states new license to curb abortion access, guaranteeing tighter restrictions in much of the country. The argument, which starts at 10 a.m., centers on a law that is far harsher than anything the court has previously upheld and all but impossible to square with Roe and other abortion precedents.
With a 6-3 conservative majority on the court, abortion opponents have a chance to achieve their long-sought goal of reversing Roe and putting the issue back under state control.
Mississippi contends that Roe and the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling are “egregiously wrong” decisions that have proven unworkable and only inflamed the debate on abortion. “Nothing in constitutional text, structure, history, or tradition supports a right to abortion,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch argued in court papers.
The 7-2 Roe decision said abortion protections were covered by the “right to privacy,” a doctrine the court established in earlier cases, though the Constitution doesn’t expressly use those words. The court re-affirmed Roe in Casey, while modifying the legal test. Casey said states can’t impose an “undue burden” on abortion access until fetal viability, a point the court suggested was around 23 or 24 weeks at the time.
Bloomberg Quicktake: Now YouTube Channel
Got a comment? Leave your thoughts in the comments section, below. Please note comments are moderated before publication.
