From Texas to Mississippi: Roe is in Trouble at SCOTUS

(note recorded before the oral arguments in Texas case)On Monday, November 1st, 2021, the Supreme Court heard arguments on Texas’s extreme and dangerous abortion ban, SB8. Ianthe Metzger, Director of State Media Campaigns with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, sits down to talk with us about abortion access in Texas, the Texas SCOTUS case, and the upcoming Mississippi case in December that could threaten the very foundation of Roe v. Wade.Currently, in Texas, the state has continued to maintain its six-week abortion ban, SB8. The law is particularly unique in that it allows anyone to be able to sue those who assist in the provision or accessing of abortion care. To learn more in depth about Texas’s law, find rePROs Fight Back’s podcast episode here. The U.S. Department of Justice has brought the case to the Supreme Court, which will have, at the airing of this podcast episode, been heard on Monday, November 1st, 2021. During the hearings, the Court will be considering whether the federal government has the right to sue to block a state’s enforcement of such a law. Additionally, the Court will be assessing the specifics of the enforcement structure in a case brought by abortion providers. On December 1st, 2021, the Supreme Court will be hearing Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The law will be brought in front of the Court by the Center for Reproductive Rights in an effort to challenge Mississippi’s fifteen-week abortion ban that is currently blocked from going into effect. The state of Mississippi has explicitly asked the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision guaranteeing the constitutional right to abortion. Allowing this law to go into effect would overturn the core holding of Roe and will no doubt open the floodgates to allow similar states to pass restrictive abortion legislation. In fact, 26 states are currently poised to ban abortion if Roe is overturned, possibly affecting 36 million women, trans men, and nonbinary folk’s access to abortion care.  If Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, patients in those 26 states will face decreased or nonexistent access to abortion care, be forced to travel hundreds of miles to visit an abortion provider, and place additional strain on the abortion clinics in states that will see an increase in out-of-state patient visits. It would also place an enormous, additional emotional weight on the staff of reproductive health clinics. It’s important to remember that Roe v. Wade is the floor, not the ceiling. Abortion access is, for so may around the country, a right on paper only. That being said, Roe is an important safeguard for abortion’s constitutionality and continued access. The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) would secure abortion access across the U.S. and protect against laws like Texas’s SB8-- and it has already passed the House of Representatives. With passage of legislation like WHPA abortion care will be better safeguarded in the U.S. LinksPlanned Parenthood Federation of America on TwitterPlanned Parenthood Federation of America on FacebookFor more information, check out Boom! Lawyered: https://rewirenewsgroup.com/boom-lawyered/ Support the showFollow Us on Social: Twitter: @rePROsFightBack Instagram: @reprosfbFacebook: rePROs Fight Back Bluesky: @reprosfightback.bsky.socialBuy rePROs Merch: Bonfire store Email us: [email protected] and Review on Apple PodcastThanks for listening & keep fighting back!