Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters Discussion Paper
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
Facts of the case
Heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in May of 2021, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is considered a milestone case that tackled the issue of abortion as a constitutional right. In this case, the Supreme Court conducted a review of Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, a state legislation that prohibited most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for fetal abnormalities and medical emergencies (Kaufman et al., 2022). The decision by the Supreme Court in this case did put an end to the established precedent in Roe v. Wade (1973) and in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992), which had protected the constitutional right to abortion in the United States of America. Issued on June 24th, 2022, the decision by the Supreme Court eliminated all the federal constitutional protections for abortion, and paved the way for comprehensive assessment and judicial scrutiny of all abortion regulations and legislations in the country (Ziegler, 2022). Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters Discussion Paper
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History of the case
The case was brought before the Supreme Court by the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, an abortion clinic based in Mississippi, challenging the legality of the Gestational Age Act (2018). The litigation launched by the organization focused on obtaining temporary restraining order aimed at preventing implementation of this act whilst litigating the constitutionality of this piece of legislation (Kaufman et al., 2022). Moreover, the Act was strongly challenged by the abortion clinic for banning as opposed to regulating the performance of abortions prior to viability. The controversial decision by the Supreme Court explicitly overturned Roe and Casey, and did pave the way for individual States to utterly ban or severely restrict abortion, leading to the elimination of abortion access and the curbing of girls and women’s rights, and their constitutionally-protected status as equal, rational and free citizens (Livingston et al., 2022).
Legal Questions
Some of the legal issues the court had to decide included:
- Whether all bans on elective abortion prior to viability are unconstitutional.
- Whether the precedent protecting the right to abortion was ‘wrong in the first place’ and whether the ultimate decision to overturn the decision led to less harm when compared to its continued implementation. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters Discussion Paper
Decision or Holdings
In this case, the regulation of abortion as ordered liberty was bestowed back to the American people and their respective leaders, including elected representatives. The decision by the majority of judges to overrule precedents was based on the assertions that the right to abortion was not entrenched in the traditions and history of the nation, and hence, the imposition of abortion restrictions and bans was necessary to restore constitutional legitimacy (Aiken et al., 2022).
Verdict and Opinion
In Dobbs v. Jackson’s case, the court ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not confer a fundamental right to abortion as initially determined in Roe and Casey. As such, the decision by the majority did upheld the abortion ban introduced under the Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act despite the fact that it applies prior to viability and only permits exceptions to perform abortion in the narrow and most extreme situations (Goodkin, 2022). Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters Discussion Paper
Conclusion
A key impact of this court decision was the explicit go-ahead given to Mississippi State to introduce and enforce all kind of bans and restrictions against the right to abortion. On one hand, it greatly undermined the capacity of many pregnant persons to access the comprehensive range of reproductive healthcare, implying that this was not a good decision. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters Discussion Paper
References
Aiken, A. R., Starling, J. E., Scott, J. G., & Gomperts, R. (2022). Requests for self-managed medication abortion provided using online telemedicine in 30 US states before and after the Dobbs V Jackson women’s health Organization decision. JAMA, 328(17), 1768. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.18865
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022)
Goodkin, N. (2022). Shifting abortion frames in the New York Times: A qualitative and quantitative content analysis before and after Dobbs v. Jackson women’s health organization. https://doi.org/10.52295/dcc.3206
Kaufman, R., Brown, R., Martínez Coral, C., Jacob, J., Onyango, M., & Thomasen, K. (2022). Global impacts of Dobbs v. Jackson women’s health Organization and abortion regression in the United States. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2022.2135574
Livingston, K., Sabec, M. A., & Ohio Birthparent Group, M. O. (2022). Birthmothers on abortion: A roundtable discussion with members of Ohio Birthparent group on the impacts of Dobbs v. Jackson women’s health organization. Adoption & Culture. https://doi.org/10.1353/ado.0.0022
Ziegler, M. (2022). Dobbs v. Jackson women’s health organization on abortion. SCOTUS 2022, 29-37 Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters Discussion Paper