With Conservatives At The Helm, High Court Hears Abortion Case Today
The arguments concern a Mississippi law that would restrict abortions after 15 weeks, well before the threshold that the landmark Roe v Wade decision set. Groups opposed to abortion have strong hopes that the court — bolstered with three justices chosen by President Donald Trump — will overturn Roe or curb its scope.
NPR:
Supreme Court Considers Whether To Reverse Roe V. Wade
An epic argument at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday: At issue is whether to reverse the court's nearly half-century-old Roe v. Wade decision and subsequent decisions declaring that women have a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy. Until now, all the court's abortion decisions have upheld Roe's central framework — that women have a constitutional right to an abortion in the first two trimesters of pregnancy when a fetus is unable to survive outside the womb, until roughly between 22 and 24 weeks. But Mississippi's law bans abortion after 15 weeks. A separate law enacted a year later would ban abortions after six weeks, and while the six-week ban is not at stake in this case, the state is now asking the Supreme Court to reverse all of its prior abortion decisions and to return the abortion question to the states. (Totenberg, 12/1)
AP:
Abortion Rights At Stake In Historic Supreme Court Arguments
Mississippi also is asking the court to overrule the 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed Roe. The arguments can be heard live on the court’s website, starting at 10 a.m. EST. The case comes to a court with a 6-3 conservative majority that has been transformed by three appointees of President Donald Trump, who had pledged to appoint justices he said would oppose abortion rights. The court had never agreed to hear a case over an abortion ban so early in pregnancy until all three Trump appointees — Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — were on board. (Sherman, 12/1)
AP:
Abortion Debate Epicenter: Mississippi Clinic Stays Open
As the U.S. Supreme Court hears a Mississippi case that could topple abortion rights nationwide, the state’s only abortion clinic is busier than ever: Volunteers continue to escort patients into the bright pink building while protesters outside beseech women not to end their pregnancies. In recent years, Jackson Women’s Health Organization saw patients two or three days a week. It recently doubled its hours to treat women from Texas, where a law took effect in early September banning most abortions at about six weeks, and from Louisiana, where clinics are filling with Texas patients. (Wagster Pettus, 12/1)
AP:
3 Lawyers Readying Arguments In High Court Abortion Case
Leading up to Wednesday’s major abortion case at the Supreme Court, the justices have heard from thousands of people and organizations urging the court to either save or scrap two historic abortion decisions. But on Wednesday they’ll hear from just three lawyers: one representing the state of Mississippi, another representing Mississippi’s only abortion clinic and the last representing the Biden administration. For each, it’s a chance to be part of what is likely to be a historic case. (Gresko, 12/1)
In other abortion news —
Axios:
Abortions Could Require 200-Mile Trips If Roe Is Overturned
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the average American could have to travel around 125 miles to reach the nearest abortion provider, compared to the current average of 25 miles, according to the Myers Abortion Facility database. 12 states will immediately restrict abortion if Roe disappears, and others would be likely to impose significant new restrictions. (Gonzalez, Wise and Oide, 12/1)
The Texas Tribune:
Texas Abortion Funds Struggle To Meet Demand For Out-Of-State Abortion Help
When the new abortion restriction law went into effect this year, donations started flooding into nonprofit organizations that financially assist Texans seeking abortions. Some Texas nonprofit groups dedicated to paying for the medical costs of abortion say they have more money than patients to give it to — a likely symptom of fewer people being able to access the procedure because of the new law. But other groups that raise money for the ancillary costs associated with getting an abortion — like traveling, taking time off from work and child care — say the demand is rapidly outpacing their ability to serve these patients who are being forced to travel farther out of state in search of care. (Bohra, 12/1)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Rep. Bush Enters Fray Over GOP Attempt To Crack Down On Planned Parenthood In Missouri
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush is asking the Biden administration to intervene in an attempt by Gov. Mike Parson and the Republican-led Legislature to withhold funding to Missouri’s lone abortion provider. In a letter sent Tuesday to Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the St. Louis Democrat asks for the administration to ensure that none of the actions taken by the state interfere with patients’ right to health care. (Erickson, 11/30)
