Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday signaled a willingness to dramatically curtail abortion rights in America and perhaps overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide as they indicated they would uphold a restrictive Republican-backed Mississippi law.
The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, heard about two hours of oral arguments in the southern state’s bid to revive its ban on abortion starting at 15 weeks of pregnancy, a law blocked by lower courts. The liberal justices warned against ditching important and longstanding legal precedents like Roe and abandoning a right American women have come to rely upon.
Roe v. Wade recognized that the right to personal privacy under the U.S. Constitution protects a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy. The Supreme Court in a 1992 ruling called Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey reaffirmed abortion rights and prohibited laws imposing an “undue burden” on abortion access. Mississippi asked the justices to overturn the Roe and Casey rulings.
“The Constitution is neither pro-life nor pro-choice on the question of abortion but leaves the issue to the people of the states or perhaps Congress to resolve in the democratic process,” Kavanaugh said.
If Roe were overturned, many states “would continue to freely allow abortion,” Kavanaugh added. Before the Roe ruling, many states banned abortion.
Julie Rikelman, arguing for the abortion clinic, said overturning Roe would not mean the court is neutral on abortion as Kavanaugh suggested.
“Women have an equal right to liberty under the Constitution, Your Honor, and if they’re not able to make this decision, if states can take control of women’s bodies and force them to endure months of pregnancy and childbirth, then they will never have equal status under the Constitution,” Rikelman told Kavanaugh.
About one in four American women has had an abortion, Rikelman added.
‘SURVIVE THE STENCH’
Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Mississippi officials sought to bring the issue to the justices only because of the court’s rightward shift.
“Will this institution survive the stench this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?” Sotomayor asked.
Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett – both appointees of Republican former President Donald Trump, who promised to name justices who would overturn Roe – could be key votes in determining how far the court will go. Barrett said overturning a major precedent is justified in certain instances but wondered whether “public reaction” should be considered.
Barrett also asked whether the recent adoption in some states of “safe haven” laws, which let women hand over unwanted babies to healthcare facilities without penalty, undermines certain justifications for abortions because women are not forced into motherhood merely by giving birth.
