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The Dobbs Case and the Decision to Overturn Roe v. Wade: Oral Arguments Before the U.S. Supreme Court
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The ruling represents a landmark decision in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).
The case was about the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi state law that banned most abortion operations after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Mississippi's only abortion clinic, had sued Thomas E. Dobbs, state health officer with the Mississippi State Department of Health, in March 2018. Lower courts had prevented enforcement of the law with preliminary injunctions. The injunctions were based on the ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which had prevented states from banning abortion before fetal viability, generally within the first 24 weeks, on the basis that a woman's choice for abortion during that time is protected by rights to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The ideological shift of the Supreme Court that intensified during the Trump administration and culminated with the 2020 appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett made Dobbs a potential vehicle for social conservatives to challenge Roe. Several states passed legislation, including trigger laws, to strictly regulate abortion should the newly conservative court overturn Roe. Dobbs gained more attention in the wake of legal battles over the Texas Heartbeat Act, enacted in May 2021, leading to near record-setting amicus curiae submissions.
Oral arguments before the Supreme Court were held in December 2021. In May 2022, Politico published a leaked draft majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, which prompted more states to pass trigger laws. The leaked draft largely matched the final decision issued on June 24, 2022. The Court ruled 6–3 to reverse the lower court rulings; a smaller majority of five justices joined the opinion overturning Roe and Casey. The majority held that abortion was not a constitutional right, as it was not "deeply rooted" in the country’s history, and that individual states have the authority to regulate access to abortion services. Chief Justice John Roberts agreed with the judgment upholding the Mississippi law but did not join the majority in the opinion to overturn Roe and Casey.
The ruling was a victory for the Christian right in American politics. Leading Republican politicians praised the decision, while their Democratic counterparts denounced it, as did many international observers. Protests and counterprotests over the decision occurred in many U.S. cities and internationally. The decision was divisive among the American public. Polling suggests 55–60% disapproved of overturning Roe.
Harvard Perspectives Press here presents the oral arguments in the case, which were heard on December 1, 2021. Mississippi was represented by Scott G. Stewart, a state solicitor general, who argued that the U.S. Constitution does not directly guarantee a right to abortion. Arguments for the respondents were presented by Julie Rikelman, Esq., and Gen. Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. Solicitor General.
The case was about the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi state law that banned most abortion operations after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Mississippi's only abortion clinic, had sued Thomas E. Dobbs, state health officer with the Mississippi State Department of Health, in March 2018. Lower courts had prevented enforcement of the law with preliminary injunctions. The injunctions were based on the ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which had prevented states from banning abortion before fetal viability, generally within the first 24 weeks, on the basis that a woman's choice for abortion during that time is protected by rights to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The ideological shift of the Supreme Court that intensified during the Trump administration and culminated with the 2020 appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett made Dobbs a potential vehicle for social conservatives to challenge Roe. Several states passed legislation, including trigger laws, to strictly regulate abortion should the newly conservative court overturn Roe. Dobbs gained more attention in the wake of legal battles over the Texas Heartbeat Act, enacted in May 2021, leading to near record-setting amicus curiae submissions.
Oral arguments before the Supreme Court were held in December 2021. In May 2022, Politico published a leaked draft majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, which prompted more states to pass trigger laws. The leaked draft largely matched the final decision issued on June 24, 2022. The Court ruled 6–3 to reverse the lower court rulings; a smaller majority of five justices joined the opinion overturning Roe and Casey. The majority held that abortion was not a constitutional right, as it was not "deeply rooted" in the country’s history, and that individual states have the authority to regulate access to abortion services. Chief Justice John Roberts agreed with the judgment upholding the Mississippi law but did not join the majority in the opinion to overturn Roe and Casey.
The ruling was a victory for the Christian right in American politics. Leading Republican politicians praised the decision, while their Democratic counterparts denounced it, as did many international observers. Protests and counterprotests over the decision occurred in many U.S. cities and internationally. The decision was divisive among the American public. Polling suggests 55–60% disapproved of overturning Roe.
Harvard Perspectives Press here presents the oral arguments in the case, which were heard on December 1, 2021. Mississippi was represented by Scott G. Stewart, a state solicitor general, who argued that the U.S. Constitution does not directly guarantee a right to abortion. Arguments for the respondents were presented by Julie Rikelman, Esq., and Gen. Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the U.S. Solicitor General.
126 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 29, 2022
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