By Brandon Moseley
There is a fight to stop abortions before what is considered the “point of viability,” and the battle is in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Mississippi case that started it all was Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In 2018, Mississippi passed a law that banned abortion after 15 weeks. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Mississippi’s only remaining abortion clinic, sued, claiming that the law was unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In those two cases, the Supreme Court held that a state may not ban abortions before the baby reaches viability. The point of viability is the point where a baby can survive outside the womb. Typically, doctors consider this point at some time between 20 to 24 weeks.
The lower federal court found in favor of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization and struck down Mississippi’s law. Mississippi appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court granted its petition, agreeing to consider whether all pre-viability bans on abortion are unconstitutional.
U.S. Senate candidate Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL05) said that if the U.S. Supreme Court decides the Mississippi abortion case “correctly, it will mean a gigantic win in the fight to protect unborn lives.
“Did you know that 47 out of 50 European countries limit abortions at 15 weeks?” Brooks said. “America is one of only seven countries worldwide that allows abortions after 20 weeks. That puts America in the same category as notorious human rights abusers China and North Korea— not a place we want to be. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon consider a case that challenges Mississippi’s 2018 law that prohibits aborting an unborn baby that is 15 weeks or older. I’ll be watching closely throughout this pivotal case. If decided correctly, it will mean a gigantic win in the fight to protect unborn lives.”
The Alabama Center for Law and Liberty has filed an amicus brief in support of the Mississippi law.
The Ultimate Goal: Recognizing the Personhood of the Unborn.
“A strong family is one where a child never has to fear for his life, whether inside the womb or out,” said Matt Clark, the President of the ACLL. “There should be no safer place on earth for a child than in his mother’s womb. The protection of innocent life is a necessary component for strong families because it is impossible to build strong families without children.
“The Constitution gives the federal judiciary the power to protect rights that are actually in the Constitution, which does not include the right to abortion,” Clark explained.
Dr. Yashica Robinson, M.D. in Alabama and a member of Physicians for Reproductive Health board member, recently was one of a diverse group of abortion supporters who filed an amicus brief supporting Jackson Women’s Health Organization in the Mississippi case.
“As an abortion provider, I strive for integrity and to maintain the ethics of the profession,” Robinson wrote. “That means providing patients the care that they need. Like many abortion providers, that is one of the reasons I fight to provide this care. It is unethical to withhold care that a patient needs, sometimes so desperately. That is especially true with patients who have the fewest financial resources, the least amount of social support, and very little meaningful access to healthcare in general. They are the ones most affected by restrictions on abortion.”
