The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a major abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, from Mississippi. The law in question, the Gestational Age Act, bans abortion after 15 weeks gestation, and the court will decide if these restrictions on pre-viability on elective abortions are unconstitutional. The high court will review a lower court decision that blocked the law from being enforced.
BREAKING: the Supreme Court will hear a major abortion case, asking whether all pre-viability restrictions on abortion are unconstitutional. The case involves a Mississippi law than bans abortions after 15 weeks. #SCOTUS pic.twitter.com/D1EYIRcMkn
— Kevin Daley ?? (@KevinDaleyDC) May 17, 2021
Here is the orders list with a snapshot of the grant.
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) May 17, 2021
Question 1 is "Whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional" pic.twitter.com/y3YIEq6vIO
The court only agreed to consider one question that was presented, which simply asks if restrictions before viability are a violation of the constitution. The justices declined to take up two other presented questions related to the "dignity of unborn children" and the "danger of late-term abortions."
Interesting that they only accepted question 1, which has an obvious easy answer. (Of course not *all* previability prohibitions are unconstitutional.)
— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) May 17, 2021
They *didn't* take up the much more important second question about whether Casey's standard survived Whole Woman's Health. pic.twitter.com/SR7F8kZ15I
Pro-choice activists argued that the court should not take up a review of the case, with the risk of setting new precedent for restrictions on abortions.