Page 8 - Viability Line News Today

Is the point at which, you know, before then the ultimate decision has to be for the woman. and all of the medical and family circumstances are for her ultimately to decide. theyve said that, you know, states can make restrictions that are reasonable, but they cant ultimately take the decision away, and that is the line that makes this secure. if they get rid of the viability line, then were going to sea a crumbling across the nation, and if roe falls, theres no way to uphold the mississippi law...

Viability. thats when a fetus can survive outside of the womb. the court said in 1992 that point is between 23 and 24 weeks. but the mississippi law bans abortions much earlier, after 15 weeks, with exceptions only for medical emergencies or severe fetal abnormalities. and now the state solicitor general will argue before the supreme court that there is nothing in the constitution that even supports a womans right to have an abortion. if the court wont go that far, the state wants the justices t...

When you got to the brief on the merits, you kind of shifted gears and talked a lot more about whether roe and casey should be overruled. >> sure, your honor. we identified for the court three questions. we emphasized, as we do, this is important. only this court can resolve it. we emphasized that it was five times that the court was going to at the least need to reconsider or re-evaluate its precedence and we asked the court to get rid of a viability line or any suggestion of a viability line. ...

>> yes, heres the deal. you heard these references to fetal viability which was at the center of roe v. wade and kc. what the chief was suggesting and hes probably the only one on the bench who thinks this, that you can actually lift that viability line, but not overrule roe. he was suggesting that the 15-week cut-off could be constitutional, which is what mississippi has. but that he wouldnt roll back some right to abortion. but what i believe, jake is that hes going to have to get -- he would ...

0 standard of self-has proved difficult to administer and that is relevant to the analysis. and i want to give you an opportunity to respond. >> yes, your honor. the first point id like to make is the undue burden test is not at issue in this case. that is the test that applies to regulations, not prohibitions. and the state has conceded that this is a prohibition. thats the title of this law. an act to prohibit abortion after 15 weeks. the only thing at issue in this case is the viability line,...

0 decisis analysis and i want to give you an opportunity to respond. >> the undue burden test is not at issue. that applies to regulations, not prohibitions. the state has conceded this is a prohibition. thats the title of this law is an act to prohibit abortion after 15 weeks and the only thing that is at issue in this case is the viability line. the viability line has been workable. the lower federal courts have applied it uniformly for 50 years, the fifth circuit had no difficulty striking do...

0 say. >> really? >> yeah. they used to be more polite. i have to say, the court over the last few years has gotten a bit more sharp in their questioning. and even sometimes to each other, and making digs at each other. thats an unfortunate trend. but i think for the most part, youll hear a respectful discussion of the issues between the advocates and the court. maybe the most important thing to think about is when the justices are asking a question, theyre not necessarily wanting to hear the an...

Mississippi law without overturning roe and so many words, requiring them to discard the viability line and replace it with a another standard that would allow cut off at 15 weeks. its a well written article, but what does that mean? >> theres a lot of legal in that article. let me just make it very simple. for most of our viewers lifetime, anyone born in 1973 or later. they had a right to guarantee to an abortion under the united states constitution. by 7 to 2 decision by the united states supr...

Later, they had a right to guarantee to an abortion under the united states constitution by a 7-2 decision by the united states supreme court called roe versus wade at a time when seven of the nine justices were appointed by republican presidents. what that right meant specifically was that a state couldnt restrict abortion if it were before the 25th week, the so-called viability. mississippi in recent years has come along and said, were actually going to ban abortion after 15 weeks. other state...

All abortions. good evening to you. this is a complicated issue but probably one thats important for our viewers to understand, and this issue centers around fetal viability. i want to read a segment from the "new york times" and i want you to help us understand what it means. the court could overturn roe entirely while allowing states to ban abortions at any point, but at least some justices may want to find a way to sustain the mississippi law without overturning roe in so many words, requirin...