{"id":1474752,"date":"2022-05-13T17:29:45","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T21:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1474752"},"modified":"2022-05-13T17:29:49","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T21:29:49","slug":"how-a-lawsuit-from-mississippis-lone-licensed-abortion-clinic-led-to-the-supreme-court-case-of-a-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-a-lawsuit-from-mississippis-lone-licensed-abortion-clinic-led-to-the-supreme-court-case-of-a-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"How A Lawsuit From Mississippi\u2019s Lone Licensed Abortion Clinic Led To The Supreme Court Case Of A Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-a-lawsuit-from-mississippis-lone-licensed-abortion-clinic-led-to-the-supreme-court-case-of-a-generation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1474752&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/05\/Knowles-What-the-Pro-Abortion-Movement-Gets-Right.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>In March 2018, Governor Phil Bryant (R-MS) enacted an abortion ban similar to those on the books in many European countries, saying that abortion clinics in Mississippi would be barred from aborting pre-born babies after 15 weeks of pregnancy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But the ban, called the Gestational Age Act, never went into effect \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/jacksonwomenshealth.com\/about-us\/\"><span>Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/span><\/a><span>, Mississippi\u2019s only licensed abortion clinic, sued to stop it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThis is the way that they chip away at abortion until it goes away,\u201d Jackson Women\u2019s Health Director Shannon Brewer recently <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/12\/01\/1060023038\/supreme-court-abortion-restrictions-mississippi\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> of the law. \u201cIt\u2019s 15 weeks, and then it\u2019s gonna be 14 weeks, and then it\u2019s gonna be 10. This is the way that they do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The law wouldn\u2019t have changed much, as the abortion clinic said it already did not perform abortions after 16 weeks of pregnancy. Even at its signing, Bryant did not view the 15-week ban as a final victory, but simply another step toward protecting the unborn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019ll probably be sued here in about a half hour, and that\u2019ll be fine with me,\u201d Bryant <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2018\/03\/19\/595045249\/mississippi-governor-signs-nations-toughest-abortion-ban-into-law\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cIt is worth fighting over.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A clinic doctor immediately filed a lawsuit in a district court, accusing lawmakers of directly violating Roe v. Wade and other decisions that followed. According to <\/span><i><span>Roe <\/span><\/i><span>and subsequent cases, states must allow abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy, or as the majority in <\/span><i><span>Planned Parenthood v. Casey<\/span><\/i><span> put it, the \u201cpoint of viability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The district court granted the abortion clinic a temporary restraining order and then enjoined the state from enforcing the 15-week abortion ban, ruling that Mississippi did not prove an unborn baby is viable at 15 weeks, arguing based on the precedent set by <\/span><i><span>Roe<\/span><\/i><span> that the state could not ban abortion before viability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the district court\u2019s decision, leading Mississippi to petition the Supreme Court. In the state\u2019s brief to the Court, the petitioners acknowledged the lower courts were required to strike down the 15-week abortion ban and pled with the court to review the precedent set by <\/span><i><span>Roe<\/span><\/i><span> and <\/span><i><span>Casey<\/span><\/i><span>. Their <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/19\/19-1392\/184703\/20210722161332385_19-1392BriefForPetitioners.pdf\"><span>brief<\/span><\/a><span> did not mince words: \u201cRoe and Casey are egregiously wrong.\u201d It was a direct challenge to the precedent set by the majority in the 1973 case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cBoth courts below understood Roe and Casey to require them to strike down Mississippi\u2019s Gestational Age Act because it prohibits (with exceptions for life and health) abortion after 15 weeks\u2019 gestation and thus before viability,\u201d the state wrote in its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/19\/19-1392\/184703\/20210722161332385_19-1392BriefForPetitioners.pdf\"><span>brief<\/span><\/a><span> to the nation\u2019s highest court. \u201cRoe and Casey are thus at odds with the straightforward, constitutionally grounded answer to the question presented.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The state questioned whether the Supreme Court\u2019s precedents set by <\/span><i><span>Roe<\/span><\/i><span> and <\/span><i><span>Casey<\/span><\/i><span> were constitutional and argued, \u201cThe conclusion that abortion is a constitutional right has no basis in text, structure, history, or tradition.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Supreme Court agreed to take Mississippi\u2019s case and began to hear arguments on December 1, 2021. From the outset of the hearing, the country knew of the potential ramifications of a decision on <\/span><i><span>Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/span><\/i><span>. \u201cFeelings [ran] high,\u201d SCOTUSblog <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/2021\/12\/feelings-run-high-two-hours-of-tense-debate-on-an-issue-that-divides-the-court-and-the-country\/\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span> on December 1, as protestors gathered around the Supreme Court building while the justices listened to arguments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Abortion supporters immedietly became nervous, and pro-life advocates saw a glimmer of hope. Conservatives had been longing for the court to overturn the infamous 1973 decision, and now the court tilted their way with six Republican-appointed justices, and at least three justices who clearly viewed <\/span><i><span>Roe<\/span><\/i><span> as unconstitutional.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Justice Clarence Thomas has not been shy with his view on the matter. <\/span><span>\u201cOur abortion precedents are grievously wrong and should be overruled,\u201d he <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/courts_law\/clarence-thomas-abortion\/2021\/11\/27\/31f3c960-4c76-11ec-b0b0-766bbbe79347_story.html\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span> in a 2020 dissenting opinion, adding, \u201cThe Constitution does not constrain the States\u2019 ability to regulate or even prohibit abortion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For Justice Samuel Alito, his view on abortion goes all the way back to 1985, when he was a lawyer for the Justice Department. In a memo written by Alito, he <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2006\/01\/24\/5081976\/judging-samuel-alito-on-abortion-rights\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> the government <\/span><span>\u201cshould make clear that we disagree with <\/span><i><span>Roe v. Wade<\/span><\/i><span>.\u201d<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Alito\u2019s leaked draft opinion on <\/span><i><span>Dobbs <\/span><\/i><span>is confirmation that he continues to hold the same view on abortion he did more than 30 years ago. Roe \u201cwas egregiously wrong from the start,\u201d Alito <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/5-key-takeaways-from-the-leaked-majority-opinion-draft-overruling-roe-v-wade\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span> in the leaked draft. However, the leaked majority opinion does not outlaw abortion or prohibit states from allowing the practice; it simply allows the issue to be decided at the state level. \u201c<\/span><span>It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people\u2019s elected representatives\u2026This is what the Constitution and the rule of law demand,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The other three conservative justices were all appointed by President Donald Trump, who <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2016\/10\/19\/trump-ill-appoint-supreme-court-justices-to-overturn-roe-v-wade-abortion-case.html\"><span>promised<\/span><\/a><span> to only appoint those who would overturn <\/span><i><span>Roe<\/span><\/i><span> if given the opportunity. With the appointments of Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, the court had five justices who liberals and conservatives viewed as threats to <\/span><i><span>Roe. <\/span><\/i><span>The perfect storm began to rage right before the court agreed to hear the case brought to them by Mississippi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Alarm bells from the pro-abortion crowd sounded just before the Supreme Court began its hearings on the case. <\/span><i><span>Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span> was a threat to them not only because it challenged <\/span><i><span>Roe<\/span><\/i><span>, but more practically, because dozens of states had laws on the books that would immediately ban or restrict abortion if <\/span><i><span>Roe<\/span><\/i><span> no longer protected the practice.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As the court began its hearings on <\/span><i><span>Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span>, the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.guttmacher.org\/article\/2021\/10\/26-states-are-certain-or-likely-ban-abortion-without-roe-heres-which-ones-and-why\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span>, \u201c<\/span><span>By the time the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the Mississippi case, there will be nine states with an abortion ban still on the books from before Roe v. Wade, 12 states with a trigger ban tied to Roe being overturned, five states with a near-total abortion ban enacted after Roe, 11 states with a six-week ban that is not in effect and one state (Texas) with a six-week ban that is in effect, one state with an eight-week ban that is not in effect and four states whose constitutions specifically bar a right to abortion. Some states have multiple types of bans in place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Another pro-abortion organization, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/reproductiverights.org\/maps\/what-if-roe-fell\/\"><span>Center for Reproductive Rights<\/span><\/a><span>, has been tracking which states would be \u201chostile\u201d toward abortion if Roe were overturned. According to their map, nearly half of states have pre-Roe laws or \u201ctrigger bans\u201d that would enact severe restrictions or outright bans on abortion should <\/span><i><span>Roe<\/span><\/i><span> fall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>From the time the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, <\/span><i><span>Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span> has posed as a threat to the nearly 50-year-long abortion protection given by <\/span><i><span>Roe<\/span><\/i><span>. <\/span><i><span>Dobbs<\/span><\/i><span> hasn\u2019t just been another case before the court\u2019s nine justices. It has been a looming verdict on a practice that defined America\u2019s political atmosphere and culture wars for decades.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In March 2018, Governor Phil Bryant (R-MS) enacted an abortion ban similar to those on the books in many European countries, saying that abortion clinics in Mississippi would be barred<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":324,"featured_media":1482919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1474752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/324"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1474752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1482919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1474752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1474752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1474752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}