Updated December 23, 2021
The precedent of Roe v. Wade is being challenged by a recent Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which was recently heard by the 6-3 conservative court.
In 2018, the “Gestational Age Act” was passed in Mississippi, banning all abortions in the state past 15 weeks. This law was challenged in a Mississippi district court, by a doctor in the state. The Supreme Court precedent prevents states from outlawing abortions before viability, and the district court ruled that Mississippi had no proof that a fetus was viable at 15 weeks. The case moved to an appeals court, where it was affirmed, and then it was brought to the Supreme Court.
The question has become more broad, though, now that the case has come to the Supreme Court. A new question - whether to overturn the precedent from Roe and Casey, the two previous landmark cases on abortion, is also being considered. The Supreme Court usually holds to “stare decisis” - the principle of holding to precedent, so overturning Roe and Casey would be a monumental decision.
Chief Justice Roberts, one of the more moderate conservatives on the Supreme Court, wants to avoid having the court decide on such a broad issue. “The thing that is at issue before us today is 15 weeks,” he said. Few of the other justices agree with Roberts on this issue, though, and would rather decide once and for all whether to uphold or to overturn Roe and Casey.
The court’s newly 6-3 conservative majority, as a result of the three nominations by former president Donald Trump, is likely to rule either in favor of Mississippi’s 15-week law, or to overturn Roe and Casey entirely. In fact, many experts say it is because of how conservative the court has become, that Mississippi decided to bring this case back up - they would not have been able to get the decision they wanted with the more liberal courts of the recent past.
Overturning Roe and Casey would grant states the authority to make their own laws regarding abortions of any kind. This means that abortions access in blue states would remain largely the same, but in red states abortions could become much less accessible, especially to lower income individuals. However, many pro-life individuals in these aforementioned red states would be very satisfied with this outcome.
We are still awaiting the actual decision on this case, which is likely to come out in June or early July of next year.