USA: Abortion law on the brink – judge shows sympathy

• fromLukas Rogalla

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The US Supreme Court hears arguments about a controversial abortion law. Some judges reveal which side they are on.

Washington, DC – Amy Coney Barrett joined the US Supreme Court in October 2020. Even before she was appointed by then President Donald Trump, she was considered controversial. The arch-conservative was once a member of the Christian fundamentalist sect “People of Praise”, in which women generally had to submit to their husbands.

Critics feared that the newly formed conservative majority in the Supreme Court would protect the right to abortion according to the principle judgment “Roe v. Wade ”could tip over. Barrett had maintained time and time again that her personal views would not affect her job as a judge. However, your questions in the current hearing suggest the opposite.

Hearing in the Supreme Court: Right to abortion in the United States on the brink

The US Supreme Court heard arguments about the controversial abortion law in the state of Mississippi on Wednesday (December 1st, 2021). While protesters on both sides were fighting words out in Washington DC, the nine judges inside in the case of “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization “recognize in their questions which side they mostly leaned towards.

Mississippi’s lawyer Scott Stewart defended the suspended law that bans all abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. A direct challenge to the landmark judgment “Roe v. Wade ”from 1973, as the state admitted in briefs. In it, Mississippi called on the Supreme Court to overturn nearly half a century of abortion jurisdiction.

In “Roe v. Wade “the Supreme Court had declared abortions during the first trimester to be a private matter. Only when the fetus is viable outside the womb can states restrict access – that is, from the 24th week of pregnancy. In “Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey “the Supreme Court had confirmed this jurisprudence in 1992 in principle.

Abortion: Conservative majority in the Supreme Court shows conviction

The conservative majority of the judges showed sympathy for the arguments of the southern state. They asked what constitutional rights established a “right to abortion”, whether the viability of the fetus was just an “artificial” limit, or whether the Supreme Court “made a terrible mistake” when it called “Roe v. Wade “decided.

Julie Rikelman of the Center for Reproductive Rights represented the last abortion clinic in Mississippi at the hearing. She said it was about the “freedom” of physical integrity and self-determination – enshrined in the constitution – which women would be denied if the state forced them to carry the child to term.

Amy Coney Barrett rejected this argument, citing interventions such as vaccination requirements during a pandemic. An abortion can be avoided in any case if women “could end their parental rights” with the release of the child for adoption. Pregnancy and parenting are not the same thing. Both “Roe v. Wade “and” Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey “would highlight the heavy burden of parenthood. She asked why the so-called “Safe Haven Laws” don’t “take care of the problem”. These laws allow parents to place their newborns in safe care without facing criminal prosecution.