Mississippi urged the United States Supreme Court on Thursday to preserve its prohibition on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy and to overturn Roe v. Wade, the historic 1973 decision that granted women the unrestricted right to terminate a pregnancy before the embryo is viable outside the womb.
Mississippi’s arguments are the most direct and forceful attack on abortion rights that the Supreme Court has seen in years.
The brief claims that “Roe and Casey are unprincipled judgments that have hurt the democratic process, poisoned our national debate, blighted the law — and, in doing so, endangered this Court.”
“Scientific breakthroughs have revealed that an unborn kid takes on a human shape and characteristics months before reaching viability. States should be allowed to respond to these changes. Roe and Casey, on the other hand, bind states to a version of the facts that are decades old.”
In a statement, Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is contesting the legislation, said, “Their objective is for the Supreme Court to take away our freedom to choose our own bodies and our own futures — not just in Mississippi, but worldwide.”
The case has yet to be scheduled for oral argument in the Supreme Court’s next term, which begins in October. By June 2022, a decision is expected.