The state’s trigger law to end abortion now comes into play upon Attorney General Fitch’s review of the SCOTUS ruling.
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ruling 6 to 3 in favor of the state’s right to enact such pro-life legislation and siding with Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s argument that such decisions should be returned to the elected representatives in each state.
“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohib- iting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. The Court overrules those decisions and returns that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” the decision states.
The arguments on the 2018 Mississippi law were made before the Court in December 2021 after Justices agreed to take the case up in September 2021.
You can read the full ruling in the Mississippi Dobbs case here.
It also overturned the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion an industry in the U.S., a move that is being celebrated by pro-life groups across the nation while pro-abortion advocates are vowing protests, marches and increased efforts to codify abortion into federal law.
It has been estimated that there have been 63 million babies aborted or killed in the U.S. since Roe in 1973.
Associate Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion with Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh along with Chief Justice John Roberts siding with Mississippi’s position. Justices Sonia Sotomayer, Elena Kagan and the retiring Stephen Breyer disagreed, holding to the left’s ideology on the issue.
The overturning of Roe means “trigger laws” in mostly conservative states will now likely go into effect within days, outlawing the practice of abortion across the board and potentially saving thousands of young lives.
In Mississippi, the “trigger law” states that once the Attorney General has determined that Roe v. Wade has been overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court and the AG has published that determination in an administrative bulletin with the Secretary of State, abortion would be illegal in Mississippi except where necessary for the preservation of the mother’s life or where the pregnancy was caused by rape following a formal charge being made to a law enforcement official. That law was passed in 2007.
Y’all Politics asked Attorney General Fitch about this prospect in May. When asked if she were ready to act on her duty under that law, Fitch said “absolutely.”
“Absolutely. That’s exactly what the law says,” Fitch told Y’all Politics then. “Once the final opinion comes down and we know what’s in there, we’ll certainly be taking a look and it does instruct us to write an opinion within 10 days upon that final opinion being delivered. So, we’ll be anxiously awaiting to see how it comes down.”
In early May, a leaked draft of a majority opinion in Mississippi’s case was released by Politico. That leaked draft opinion authored by Justice Alito indicated that both Roe and Casey, prior decisions of the Court that allowed abortion and put forth the notion that ending unborn life was a right, should be overturned and that the power to decide this issue should be returned to the people at the state level.
That leak sparked protests from pro-abortion advocates, going so far as to disrupt religious services at churches even on Mother’s Day and marching outside of Justices’ homes. All the while, nationally prominent Democrats and public figures, even the White House Press Secretary, encouraged these actions despite an obvious violation of federal law regarding seeking to influence judicial rulings.
Recently, a man was arrested for plotting to murder Justice Kavanaugh in the wake of these pro-abortion protests. The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill to bolster security for Justices, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Democrats in the House held the legislation up until this week.
In response to the May leaked draft opinion, Congressional Democrats attempted to codify an expanded version of Roe into federal law but failed to reach even a majority in the Senate as one of their own, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, jumped ship. The extreme legislation would have made abortion a statutory right and allowed abortion up to birth while abolishing state laws regulating the procedure.
Y’all Politics will continue to follow this story and share reaction of officials as this continues to develop. Follow Y’all Politics online and on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news.
Frank Corder
