Rainbow FM

Published

December 2, 2021

No Comments

Join the Conversation

View

59 Views

The US Supreme Court appears poised to accept a Mississippi law that would bar abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, even in cases of rape or incest.

In Wednesday’s hearing into the case, conservative justices hinted that a majority backed upholding the law.

A ruling, expected in June, may see millions of women lose abortion access.

Anti-abortion activists are urging the court to “protect unborn children”, but experts warn of an increase in maternal mortality if abortion is restricted.

Both sides of the debate regard this case, known as Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, as an all-or-nothing fight over abortion rights.

Lawyers defending the Mississippi law have asked the court to overturn two previous landmark decisions regarding abortion.

The first, 1973’s Roe v Wade, gave women in the US an absolute right to an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy, and limited rights in the second trimester.

In 1992, in Planned Parenthood v Casey, the court ruled that states could not place an “undue burden” on women seeking abortions before a foetus could survive outside the womb, at about 24 weeks.

In the years since, the “foetal viability” standard has acted as a red line in abortion law, preventing any bans on abortion before this time.

But anti-abortion campaigners hope the current ideological makeup of the court has created a new opening. The court, reshaped by three appointments under former President Donald Trump, has been called the most conservative-leaning in modern US history.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *