Roe No More? The Sequel

The Supreme Court Sets a Date For Arguments in Case that Could Challenge Roe V. Wade

The Supreme Court announced in late September that they will hear arguments beginning on December 1, 2021, in a case from Mississippi that tests whether all state laws that ban “pre-viability” abortions are unconstitutional. It is interesting timing for this monumental review to begin in December as Christians begin the observance of the Advent Season. As a community that values and protects the life of the unborn begin praying fervently that God’s wisdom will prevail.

The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, has the potential to pose a serious challenge to Roe v. Wade. That’s the 1973 ruling that declared that a woman has a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy in the first six months of her pregnancy when the fetus is incapable of surviving outside the womb.

Mississippi bans most abortions after 15 weeks, significantly before fetal viability, which is typically between 22 and 24 weeks. A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative in the U.S., blocked enforcement of the law, finding it in conflict with Roe v. Wade and subsequent abortion decisions.

Mississippi’s law is one of many that conservative states have passed in the last year or more, seeking to eliminate or severely restrict abortion. Bans on pre-viability abortion 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.

In May, the court agreed to hear the case. Monday’s announcement puts a date on that decision.

The court’s announcement came weeks after the high court allowed Texas to move forward — for now — with a new law to ban abortions after the cardiac activity is detected. This happens usually after six weeks, which is often before women know they’re pregnant. (NPR article by Nina Totenberg – 9.20.21)