Mississippi's attorney general asked the Supreme Court July 22 to overturn the constitutional right to abortion and sustain a state law that prohibits most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, reports The New York Times.
In the new filing, Attorney General Lynn Fitch argues against the legitimacy of Roe v. Wade and subsequent rulings.
"The Constitution does not protect a right to abortion," Ms. Fitch wrote. "The Constitution's text says nothing about abortion. Nothing in the Constitution's structure implies a right to abortion or prohibits states from restricting it."
"The national fever on abortion can break only when this court returns abortion policy to the states — where agreement is more common, compromise is often possible and disagreement can be resolved at the ballot box," Ms. Fitch wrote.
The law at issue, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, was enacted in Mississippi in 2018. It banned abortions if "the probable gestational age" was determined to be more than 15 weeks. The statute included narrow exceptions for medical emergencies or "a severe fetal abnormality." The law was challenged by the state's sole abortion clinic.
Lower courts previously blocked the Mississippi statute, saying it was at odds with Supreme Court precedents.
The court will hear arguments in the fall. The justices will have to determine "whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional" and could reaffirm, revise or remove constitutional framework for abortion rights.