The fight over abortion rights in the United States has flared up once again after two major court developments this week.
First, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear a Mississippi case that many pro-rights organisations fear will lead to a roll-back of the landmark Roe v Wade case, which gave American women the constitutional right to abortion.
Second, Texas became the latest state to pass into law a "foetal heartbeat" abortion bill that bans the procedure after around six weeks of pregnancy.
The developments have provoked fear in pro-rights organisations and hope for anti-abortion groups who have long sought for the reversal of Roe V Wade.
Here’s where things are at in the US on abortion.
What is Roe v Wade?
It’s the landmark Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional nationwide right to abortion in 1973.
It allows American women the right to have an abortion within the first three months of pregnancy, or the first trimester.
'Jane Roe' - a pseudonym - was an unmarried pregnant woman who filed a suit challenging Texas abortion laws. Henry Wade was the defending district attorney.
A 2018 file photo of supporters at a rally held by Planned Parenthood, commemorating the 45th anniversary of the landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling. Source: AP
Anti-abortion campaigners have long been waiting for a change in the tides to see the law overturned.
If that happens, abortion would remain legal in 21 states and would likely be banned in 24 states and three territories, according to the Centre for Reproductive Rights' 'What if Roe Fell' project.
Why does the Supreme Court make-up matter?
The make-up of the court is now considered more conservative after the appointments of three justices by former president Donald Trump: Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and Amy Coney Barrett last year.
The composition is now a 6-3 conservative majority
Many anti-abortion campaigners are pinning their hopes on Justice Barrett, who is considered the most open opponent of abortion rights to join the court in decades.
Her elevation to the role came after the death of abortion rights proponent Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in October 2020.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett, is sworn in during the first day of her Senate confirmation hearing to the Supreme Court on 12 October. Source: The New York Times
Which states now have a 'heartbeat bill'?
Eight states have attempted to ban abortion at six weeks, based on the presence of a foetal heartbeat, according to the Guttmacher Institute reproductive rights research group.
Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee all have bills based around the six-week limit.
None of these have come into effect, with some stuck under various court challenges or temporarily blocked.
Under the bill passed into law in Texas, abortions are banned once the rhythmic contracting of foetal cardiac tissue can be detected, although there’s an exception for abortions in cases of medical emergency.
There are concerns that often women don’t realise they are pregnant well past the six weeks because of their menstrual cycles.
Medical experts have also questioned campaigners’ statements around the ‘first detectable foetal heartbeat’, because an embryo isn’t yet a foetus at six weeks and doesn’t have a heart.
An ultrasound can detect a flicker of a heartbeat at six weeks.
What does the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the Mississippi case mean?
This is the case that commentators say could change abortion rights and lead to restrictions on abortion access in the US.
The court is reviewing the legality of a 2018 Mississippi law, Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs, that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy,
The court is considering the question as to whether all pre-viability prohibitions on abortion are unconstitutional, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.
It’s the first time the Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of a pre-viability abortion ban since Roe v Wade, the Center added.
Abortion rights advocates fear - and abortion opponents hope - that the court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, could use the case to permit more restrictive abortion laws, which Republican-led state legislatures have been pursuing for years.
Nancy Northup, president and chief executive of the Center for Reproductive Rights said alarm bells were ringing about the threat to reproductive rights.
“The consequences of a Roe reversal would be devastating,” she said in a statement.
“Over 20 states would prohibit abortion outright. Eleven states—including Mississippi—currently have trigger bans on the books which would instantaneously ban abortion if Roe is overturned.
“Already, abortion is nearly impossible to access for people in states like Mississippi, where lawmakers have been chipping away at the right to abortion for decades.”
Anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List says it’s a “landmark opportunity” for the Supreme Court.
“Across the nation, state lawmakers acting on the will of the people have introduced 536 pro-life bills aimed at humanising our laws and challenging the radical status quo imposed by Roe,” SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement.
“It is time for the Supreme Court to catch up to scientific reality and the resulting consensus of the American people as expressed in elections and policy.”
- With Reuters
