Mississippi asks the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in upcoming abortion case
The legal brief by the state of Mississippi makes an explicit argument to throw out Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that legalized abortion.
Associated Press/Susan Walsh
- The state of Mississippi has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark abortion ruling Roe v. Wade.
- Lawyers called the Roe v. Wade ruling "egregiously wrong" in a brief filed on Thursday.
- The state wants it overturned so it can uphold its own restrictions to abortion access, according to the brief.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
The state of Mississippi has asked the Supreme Court to overturn landmark abortion ruling Roe v. Wade in a case set to be argued in the court's next term.
Mississippi wants Roe v. Wade to be overturned so it can uphold its own restrictions to abortion access, according to a brief filed Thursday.
The legal brief by the state of Mississippi makes an explicit argument to throw out the pivotal 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
Lawyers for Mississippi called the Roe ruling "egregiously wrong" in the brief.
"The conclusion that abortion is a constitutional right has no basis in text, structure, history, or tradition," the court filing says.
Lower courts have blocked Mississippi's state law, which bans most abortions after 15 weeks into a pregnancy.
The brief follows another still-pending Mississippi case attempting to overturn Roe v. Wade
The challenge, which can be rejected, builds on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a pending case the Supreme Court took up in May addressing whether a 2018 Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks is constitutional.
That case is deciding "whether all previability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional," the court's announcement said. "Fetal viability" is believed to begin around 24 weeks. The medical consensus is that something akin to pain is first felt at 28 weeks, despite past efforts to restrict abortion access after 20 weeks on the basis that that's when the fetus feels pain.
What would happen if Roe v. Wade were overturned
The Center for Reproductive Rights estimates that 34 states could cease to protect abortion rights if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned and local governments took no action.
In that case, the US would be ushered back into a context more akin to the 1950s and 1960s, when underground abortions were common, Carole Joffe, a sociologist who cowrote "Obstacle Course: The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America," previously told Insider.
There are still many unknowns about cost and access if Roe v. Wade is overturned, Joffe said, since different states can make their own laws about the procedure. One thing seems certain: Abortions will continue, no matter Roe v. Wade's future.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.