Mississippi s last abortion clinic at center of US debate
EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press
May 22, 2021
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1of15Coleman Boyd, a Mississippi physician an a ardent anti-abortion advocate, calls out to people leaving the Jackson Womens Health Organization clinic, Thursday, May 20, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. The clinic is Mississippi s only state licensed abortion facility. On May 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the dispute over a Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The issue is the first test of limits on abortion access to go before the conservative majority high court. Their decision could mean more restrictions, and focuses on the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which established a woman s right to an abortion.Rogelio V. Solis/APShow MoreShow Less
Mississippi’s last abortion clinic under fire
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Coleman Boyd, a Mississippi physician and an ardent anti-abortion advocate, calls out Thursday to people leaving the Jackson Women’s Health Organization clinic in Jackson, Miss. The clinic is Mississippi’s only state-licensed abortion facility. On May 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the dispute over a Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The issue is the first test of limits on abortion access to go before the conservative majority high court. Their decision could mean more restrictions and focuses on the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which established a woman’s right to an abortion.
Anti-abortion activists are closer than ever to achieving their ultimate goal: overturning
Roe v. Wade. This week, they celebrated the news that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a major abortion case,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO). The case concerns a Mississippi state law that would ban almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy well before a fetus is viable. With the Court’s new 6-3 conservative majority, the outcome could be devastating for abortion access.
SCOTUS has been considering whether or not to take up this case for a year and a half. They even conferenced on it 17 times before agreeing to take it up. Now we will find out how much this new 6-3 conservative majority respects precedent, as this case gives the Court an opportunity to overturn close to five decades of legal precedent surrounding abortion rights.
US court s decision to take up case puts abortion on front burner
Besides Mississippi, 15 other states have tried to ban abortions before viability, but they have been blocked in court
Updated: May 22, 2021 06:02 AM GMT
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The US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC. (Photo: Daniel Slim/AFP)
When the US Supreme Court decided May 17 to take up a challenge to a Mississippi abortion law, it brought abortion back to the front burner months before the court will hear oral arguments about it this fall.
The court s announcement was not unexpected. For months, people on both sides of the issue have been wondering when the court would take up the Mississippi appeal and speculating about why there was a delay.