Today the Republican Supreme Court begins hearing arguments in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, in what could be a case that deals a fatal blow to women's reproductive freedom. Here's a brief primer on what's at stake:
On Wednesday, the high court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which centers on a 2018 Mississippi law that seeks to ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The law directly contradicts Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that protects the right to abortion. Roe made it a constitutional right to access safe and legal abortion until a fetus’ viability, which is around 24 weeks. The Mississippi law cuts that almost in half with a 15-week restriction.
Since JWHO is the only abortion clinic left in the Southern state, the law directly targets Brewer and her staff. And they have a heavy burden to bear. Not only will the case decide the fate of abortion rights in Mississippi, it will also determine if abortion access will remain legal across the country.
“I’ve been asked a lot of times if this is a scary thing that’s going on, just like all of the other cases we’ve done over the years,” Brewer said on a call with reporters earlier this month. “This case has worried me more than any other one, because I know this is going to be detrimental to women not only here in Mississippi, but in so many states. Because, believe me, if [the Supreme Court] decides to do it, most of the other Southern states are going to ban abortion immediately.”
The Supreme Court could strike down the Mississippi law, which would mean Roe remains the law of the land. Or the court could uphold the law ― whether banning abortion outright or tinkering with the gestational limit ― which would effectively overturn Roe and allow states to set their own standards. If that happens, it would trigger bans or constitutional amendments in several states that would immediately outlaw abortion.
The Supreme Court isn’t expected to decide the Mississippi case until June. If the state law is upheld, it will be the beginning of a nationwide battle in a post-Roe world. But for people in Mississippi, where abortion rights have been under attack for years and reproductive choice already badly restricted, it would be a final blow.
This movement to restrict a woman's right to choose began picking up steam as soon as Sen. "Moscow Mitch" McConnell (R-Chinless Peckerwood) rammed through the Amy Coney Barrett nomination just before the 2020 election. It capped off a sea change in the Court's makeup that began with Moscow Mitch's refusal to give Merrick Garland a hearing when President Obama wanted to replace the late and unlamented Antonin Scalia on the Court. As has been pointed out, the now- 6- justice- Christofascist majority on the Court is far more likely to exercise its power in the most extreme, uncompromising manner.
It likely won't temper the Court's Christofacists that Americans want Roe upheld by a better than 2 to 1 majority. For decades, overturning Roe has been a goal of the far right and its legal petri dish, the Federalist Society, and they're not likely to let this opportunity pass by. Since it's not expected that the decision will come until June 2022, an outcome turning back the clock 50 years, by restricting a woman's right to control her reproductive freedom, will energize voters to express their outrage at the polls that November.
(Cartoon: Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
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