Supreme Court takes up abortion case that could overturn Roe v. Wade

Today the Supreme Court agreed to take up a challenge to a Mississippi law that bans all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Former Mississippi Republican Governor Phil Bryant signed it three years ago, but it never went into effect because lower courts blocked it.

With a new conservative majority on the Supreme Court, this means the landmark 1973 decision Roe v. Wade could be in trouble. The justices will likely hear arguments on this Mississippi case in the fall.

“This was clearly an attempt to overturn Roe vs. Wade,” says Jessica Levinson, law professor at Loyola Law School.

Politico health care reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein adds, “You are seeing abortion rights supporters really bracing for what they consider the worst, which is the Supreme Court giving a green light to enact these kinds of sweeping bans.”