US moves to protect unborn children

The US Supreme Court now appears poised to accept a Mississippi law barring abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, after conservative justices hinted that a majority backed upholding the law. Its ruling, expected in June, may see millions of women lose their current access to abortion.

Pro-life activists are urging the court to ‘protect unborn children’, but others warn of an increase in maternal mortality if abortion is restricted. Both sides of the debate regard this case – known as Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization – as an all-or-nothing fight.

Overturn Roe v Wade

Lawyers defending the Mississippi law want the court to overturn two previous landmark decisions. The first, Roe v Wade in 1973, gave American women an absolute right to an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy. In 1992, in Planned Parenthood v Casey, the court ruled that states could not place an ‘undue burden’ on women seeking abortions on foetuses aged under 24 weeks. If the court strikes down Roe v Wade, or rules that the Mississippi law is valid, at least 21 states are expected to introduce abortion restrictions, including outright bans after 15 weeks.