Dubbed ‘the case that could end Roe v. Wade’, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization became the centre of public attention after the Supreme Court announced it would be hearing the arguments of the case on December 1st 2021. But what exactly makes this case different from the other abortion cases heard by the Supreme Court?
Jackson Women’s Health Organization is the only licensed abortion clinic in Mississippi. When Mississippi passed the Gestational Age Act in 2018, which illegalised the vast majority of abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, the Health Organization went to the federal district court to appeal this law[1]. They argued the state law was unconstitutional as it opposed the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, the infamous case in which the Supreme Court decided banning abortions violated the 14th Amendment and women’s right to ‘liberty’. Whilst the Gestational Age Act included exceptions for severe fetal abnormality or medical emergency, it included no exceptions for rape or incest[2]. A month after filling the complaint, Jackson Women’s Health Organisation added an amendment against the Mississippi’s clinic licensing scheme, arguing it includes unnecessary restrictions such as a secondary trip to the clinic pre-abortion and a ban on the use of telemedicine for abortion care.
When the federal district court sided with the Jackson Women’s Health Organization and deemed the state law unconstitutional, Mississippi appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Similarly, when this U.S. Court of Appeals ruled again in favour of Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the State of Mississippi protested. After a denied petition for a rehearing en banc (meaning a rehearing of the case in front of all of the judges of a court), the State was granted a certiorari petition by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2021[3].
So what are the implications of the Supreme Court hearing arguments on this case? The Court has been given the opportunity to overturn both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey: if they rule in favour of the State of Mississippi and allow a ban on pre-viability abortions, they will be directly contradicting the precedent that pre-viability abortions are unconstitutional as set by Roe v. Wade, so thus will be expected to re-examine these historic precedents in the near future[4]. Whilst some abortion cases have previously been heard by the Supreme Court — such as Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt which was struck down 5-3 in 2016, or June Medical Services, LLC v. Russo which was struck down 5-4 in 2020[5] — the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court and the introduction of conservative justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in 2020 makes the verdict of this case uncertain. Arguably, the fact that they even granted the certiorari petition when the Mississippi law clearly violates the precedents of Roe v. Wade, indicates the Supreme Court’s dissent from these precedents.
[1] https://spectatorworld.com/topic/supreme-court-case-could-end-roe-v-wade/ [2] https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/03/19/595045249/mississippi-governor-signs-nations-toughest-abortion-ban-into-law?t=1635101089386 [3] https://reproductiverights.org/case/jackson-womens-health-organization-v-dobbs/ [4] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/21/supreme-court-told-it-should-reconsider-roe-v-wade-if-it-takes-up-texas-abortion-law-challenge.html [5] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/supreme-court-abortion-louisiana.html
Comments