A BRIEF SUMMARY

In 2018, The Centre for Reproductive Rights filed Dobbs v. Jackson on behalf of Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the last remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi to block the state’s unconstitutional ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The case was filed the very next day when then Governor Phil Bryant signed the ban into law. A federal district court granted emergency relief the next day, blocking enforcement of the ban and in November,2018, struck down the 15-week ban because it violated decades of precedent. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision in December 2019. The State of Mississippi filed a writ petition certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on June 15,2020 which asked the Court to review the 15-week ban.

THE JUDGEMENT

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in this case on June 24, 2022, taking away the constitutional right to abortion, abandoning almost 50 years of precedent, and paving the way for states to ban abortion.

In the case of Roe v. Wade[1], the U.S. Supreme Court for the very first time recognized the “right to abortion”.

After 50 years, U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade [2]and revokes the constitutional right to abortion. It was for the first time in history that the Supreme Court has taken away a fundamental right.

CRITIQUE

This decision is said to be devastating because the repercussions shall be faced by the coming generations. By this decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has completely abandoned its duty to protect fundamental rights. It was overturned the decision given in Roe v. Wade[3], where right to abortion was recognized.

The court’s ruling is likely to lead half the U.S. states to take immediate action to outlaw abortion, forcing people to travel hundreds and thousands of miles to access abortion treatment or conceive against their own. This decision is gross violation of their human rights.

In Mississippi, the situation has turned even worse. Earlier, Mississippi had only one clinic in the entire state.

Some facts related to Mississippi are –

• 99% (81 out of 82) of Mississippi countries do not have a single abortion clinic[4]
• There are nearly 6,00,000 women of reproductive age in Mississippi.[5]
• 91% of these women live in countries without an abortion.[6]

People of Mississippi seeking abortions already faced numerous burdens to access care such as missing work, arranging for childcare, travelling long distances, complying with mandatory delays and foregoing routine expenses to pay for an abortion.

Because of such circumstances, Mississippi had the worst infant mortality rate among states. [7]

Mississippi has focused on passing laws that make it harder for people to access needed reproductive health care-even though the state has among the worst health outcomes for women and children in the U.S.

Now, owing to U.S. Supreme Court’s decision abortion is completely ban.

CONCLUSION

This decision will allow extremists across the country to ban abortion and force women and others who can become pregnant into a second-class status by denying them control over their bodies and their futures. Because of this decision, half the states are expected to ban abortion, denying the 36 million women and other people who can become pregnant in those states the fundamental right to decide for themselves if and when to have a child. The impacts of pushing abortion out of reach fall disproportionately on the same women and other people who have always faced systemic barriers to care — communities of colour, people living on low-incomes, undocumented immigrants, young people, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities.

This decision of U.S. Supreme Court has triggered several rallies in support of abortion rights with banners announcing #AbortionIsEssential.

People will still need abortion care but the Supreme Court’s decisions mean millions across the country will no longer have access to it.

This rush to ban abortion will lead to extreme chaos across the country as people, providers, clinics, and abortions funds struggle to deal with new and extreme pre-existing bans and clinics in surrounding states attempt to absorb a huge influx of patients.

U.S. Supreme Court has completely overlooked the rape victims who get pregnant. In the times, where work has to be done in uplifting the position of women, this decision is complete violation of women’s fundamental as well as human rights.

REFERENCES

Supreme Court Case: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, https://reproductiverights.org/case/scotus-mississippi-abortion-ban/ (last visted July 6,2022)

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, https://www.aclu.org/cases/dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health-organization(last visited July 6,2022)

[1] Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)

[2] Id at 1

[3] Id at 1

[4] Jones RK, Witwer E and Jerman J. Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2017. Guttmacher Institute. 2019.

[5] Nash E, Bearak J, Jones RK, Li N, Cross L. Mississippi Is Attacking Roe v. Wade Head On—the Consequences Could Be Severe. Guttmacher Institute. 2021

[6] Jones RK, Witwer E and Jerman J. Abortion Incidence and Service Availability in the United States, 2017. Guttmacher Institute.

[7] United Health Foundation. State Summaries Mississippi | 2018 Health Of Women And Children Report. America’s Health Rankings. Accessed October 13, 2021.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE SAME, DO LET ME KNOW.

Do follow me on Facebook, Twitter  Youtube and Instagram.

The copyright of this Article belongs exclusively to Ms. Aishwarya Sandeep. Reproduction of the same, without permission will amount to Copyright Infringement. Appropriate Legal Action under the Indian Laws will be taken.

If you would also like to contribute to my website, then do share your articles or poems at secondinnings.hr@gmail.com

In the year 2021, we wrote about 1000 Inspirational Women In India, in the year 2022, we would be featuring 5000 Start Up Stories.