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AG Fitch files response brief in...

AG Fitch files response brief in abortion case

By: Sarah Ulmer - October 14, 2021

Attorney General Lynn Fitch

On Wednesday, Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a response brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

In her brief she reiterates the need to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey and return abortion policymaking to the people.

“Finally forced to defend those cases, respondents drive home the stark reality: Roe and Casey are indefensible,” Attorney General Lynn Fitch wrote in the reply. “Respondents do not claim that constitutional text or structure establishes a right to abortion. And they do not seriously argue that Roe and Casey are correct as an original matter. Their defense of Casey is to repeat its reasoning.”

RELATED: AG Fitch files brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health abortion ban case

Attorney General Fitch takes the stance that abortion rights should be left up to the individual states, and not a national decision.

“Not treating abortion as a fundamental right treats it as the Constitution does most important issues: for the people to decide,” wrote General Fitch. “When this Court returns this issue to the people, the people can debate, adapt, and find workable solutions. It will be hard for the people too, but under the Constitution the task is theirs—and the Court should return it to them now.”

Fitch argued that over the decades since Roe v. Wade was presented much has changed in science and society. She said that those against her case  “do not dispute (for example) that more women than men now enroll in law school and medical school, that women’s college enrollment has continued to climb, or that record numbers of women serve in state legislatures and Congress. Nor do respondents contest that laws enacted since Roe facilitate the ability of women to pursue both career success and a rich family life.” the brief stated.

RELATED: U.S. Supreme Court to hear case considering Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban

General Fitch continues in her brief, stating that Respondents’ claim “boils down to the view that millions of women have a meaningful life only because 50 years ago seven men in Roe saved them from despair—and that women’s success comes at the cost of ending innumerable human lives. That is the debased view that Roe and Casey have produced. It is time to get rid of them.”

In July, nearly 80 amicus briefs were filed by legal experts, feminist scholars, medical providers, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who provided compelling arguments for why the Court should return abortion policymaking to the political branches.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on December 1, 2021.

Dobbs v. Jackson women’s health by yallpolitics on Scribd

About the Author(s)
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Sarah Ulmer

Sarah is a Mississippi native, born and raised in Madison. She is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where she studied Communications, with an emphasis in Broadcasting and Journalism. Sarah’s experience spans multiple mediums, including extensive videography with both at home and overseas, broadcasting daily news, and hosting a live radio show. In 2017, Sarah became a member of the Capitol Press Corp in Mississippi and has faithfully covered the decisions being made by leaders on some of the most important issues facing our state. Email Sarah: sarah@magnoliatribune.com