Will Roe v. Wade be overturned?
A deep dive into how Roe v. Wade is being challenged in Texas and Mississippi
A deep dive into how Roe v. Wade is being challenged in Texas and Mississippi
A deep dive into how Roe v. Wade is being challenged in Texas and Mississippi
In May, the Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments from Mississippi's case, Dobbs v. Jackson's Women's Health Organization, in an attempt to ban abortion after 15 weeks.
This decision came around the same time Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the country's strictest ban on abortion into law, known as the Senate Bill-8. The law prohibits women from getting the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy or when cardiac activity is detected.
In a five-to-four decision, the Supreme Court declined to block the Texas ban, effectively changing the precedent of the 1973 landmark decision of Roe v. Wade that made abortion a constitutional right. The law forced many clinics to close and incentivizes individuals to enforce the ban by placing a $10,000 bounty on anyone who helps women get an abortion.
After the Supreme Court's ruling, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas to protect the constitutional rights of women.
Also, in early October, a federal judge issued an order to block the law, but Abbott immediately appealed the decision.
On Nov. 1, the Supreme Court began hearing arguments in two cases over whether abortion providers or the Justice Department can mount federal court challenges to the law, which has an unusual enforcement scheme its defenders argue shields it from federal court review.
Neither case considers the constitutionality of the law directly, but the motivation is that the Texas ban conflicts with landmark Supreme Court rulings that prevent a state from banning abortion early in pregnancy.
Similarly, Mississippi's only abortion clinic is in jeopardy. In the South and Midwest, where abortion is already difficult to access, if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, it will eliminate the procedure entirely.
In this episode of Clarified, learn about how the 48-year precedent of Roe v. Wade is being challenged.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.