Supreme Court Leaning Towards Upholding Mississippi's 15-Week Abortion Ban

Hundreds of demonstrators both pro-choice and pro-life held competing rallies outside the Supreme Court Wednesday as the justices heard arguments in a Mississippi case that could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion across the country.

Six justices indicated they would uphold the Mississippi law after initial arguments. The case, Dobbs v. Jackson, centers on a 2018 Mississippi law that outlawed abortion after 15 weeks. Roe and subsequent Supreme Court rulings have essentially forbidden states from abolishing the procedure before a fetus reaches viability, which is generally considered to be from 22-24 weeks.

In deciding to take the case earlier this year, the conservative-heavy Court agreed to determine whether a state imposing a pre-viability ban on abortion is unconstitutional. Members of Oklahoma’s all-Republican and heavily pro-life congressional delegation are watching the case carefully.