In 2018, the Mississippi Legislature enacted a law banning abortions after fifteen weeks of pregnancy. There are already several state laws banning abortions after sixteen weeks. However, the new law never went into effect, because immediately after its passing, it was challenged and brought to a federal appellate court in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization is the only abortion clinic in Mississippi, and is therefore at the center of the case.
The federal appellate court said that the state had not provided proof to support their claim that after fifteen weeks termination of the pregnancy is riskier to the mother, prompting their rule against the ban. The case was then brought to the Supreme Court. Of the nine justices on the Supreme Court, six of them are Republican, and three are Democrats. This 6-3 Republican majority concerns pro-choice citizens that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the Mississippi law. The justices could also decide to fully overturn Roe V. Wade, a Supreme Court case from almost fifty years ago that provides women with a national right to get an abortion. This would allow states to pass laws imposing further restrictions on abortions, or ban abortions entirely.
Shannon Brewer, the clinical director at Jackson Women’s Health Organization, commented, “I’m sure some women probably could go somewhere else, but the majority of the patients that we see, they’re barely making it there, and they live in the state” (CBS News Melissa Quinn). For most women in Mississippi, Jackson Women’s Health Organization is their only option for an abortion, because they do not have the time or money to go elsewhere.
The Supreme Court is expected to have a decision in June or July of 2022. If the Supreme Court justices decide that the Mississippi law is constitutional, it would be setting a precedent for anti-abortion laws across the country. About twelve states have trigger-laws, laws that cannot currently be passed but might in the near future if further restrictions are imposed on abortion or it’s banned entirely. Roughly twenty-six states stand poised to ban abortion if Roe V. Wade is overturned. This would mean that over 35 million women in those twenty-six states would no longer have access to an abortion.
While the justices have yet to rule on the major Mississippi abortion case, a partial decision which left the Texas abortion ban in place was made on Friday, December 10th. This does not address specific questions regarding Mississippi, but has been interpreted as an indication for the justices inclination to restrain abortion rights.
