Mississippi’s Attorney General Lynn Fitch called on the Supreme Court last week to defend the right of states to pass laws protecting “life and women’s health,” urging the court to overturn the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade.
The attorney general filed a brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which the court will hear beginning in October, slamming Roe as “egregiously wrong” and calling on the Supreme Court to uphold Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks.
Dobbs will be the first major abortion case in which all three of former President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court justice appointees participate, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who gained a seat on the court after a contentious confirmation process in October.
At issue is the question of whether all pre-viability bans on abortions are unconstitutional.
The brief argues that many things have changed in the nearly 50 years since Roe v. Wade, including scientific understanding of when an unborn baby is viable outside the womb.
An unborn baby is considered viable at 24 weeks, though medical intervention and a stay in the NICU are usually required this early. Babies born before 23 weeks have a survival rate of about 5% to 6%, and medical experts found that unborn babies can feel pain as early as 12 weeks.