Will the Supreme Court Overturn Roe v. Wade?

            The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the right to life named in the Declaration of Independence and enshrined in the Constitution. In 1973, the Supreme Court made its Roe v. Wade decision to allow abortion for any reason and at any time. The court made the decision without the medical advances of our day.

            The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This case is based on a 2018 law passed in Mississippi called Gestational Age Act. According to Melanie Israel, this law “prohibits abortions after 15 weeks with exceptions for a medical emergency or a severe fetal abnormality.” The question before the court in this case is “whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional” or should Americans allow babies to be killed simply because they have not yet been born? Israel continued with her argument for end Roe v. Wade. 

A baby is considered full term at 40 weeks’ gestation, but viability occurs earlier in pregnancy. In 1973, viability was considered to be approximately 28 weeks’ gestation. Today, 24 weeks is widely accepted, and babies are surviving even earlier—some as early as 21 weeks, such as Micah Pickering.

In an amicus brief submitted to the court by a group of medical professionals, it points out that since Roe, the “supposed viability line has now moved at least a month and a half earlier than was contemplated in Roe.”

What scientific developments will the next 50 years bring? The “viability standard” imposed by the Supreme Court is ultimately an arbitrary line made without scientific analysis or justification and has prevented much state policymaking on abortion to bring the law in line with the science.

In 1973, ultrasound technology wasn’t widely available and accessible. Today, ultrasound is widely available and a routine practice as part of a woman’s prenatal care. The images are far more clear than they were nearly 50 years ago.

            Science made lots of advancements in the past fifty years, and one of those developments is the ultrasound. “As science and technology advances, the field of perinatal medicine has exploded with options to diagnose, plan for, and treat various conditions – including surgery while children are still in the womb.”

Likewise, knowledge about fetal pain—and how it may be felt as early as at 12 weeks, far earlier than previously thought—has changed the standard of care for surgical procedures in utero, palliative care for babies born too early to survive, and more.

Despite the numerous ways scientific knowledge and technology have advanced since 1973, the Supreme Court—through Roe v. Wade and later decisions, such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey—has prohibited states from enacting laws that are grounded in modern science.

Mississippi compellingly argues that it’s time for the high court to finally change course: Nothing in the Constitution’s text, structure, history, or tradition supports a constitutional right to abortion, and Mississippi has just as much authority to legislate on abortion as it does on other subjects, including legislation addressing abortion before viability.

The so-called viability standard is arbitrary and ultimately unworkable, and until it is rejected, it will remain a barrier to states such as Mississippi being able to enact laws that reflect current—not outdated—science.

            The bottom line is that the Supreme Court may follow the modern science developments that clearly show human life. It is time for the Supreme Court to make a course correction on abortion because science has shown “the humanity of children in the womb.” It is time for Americans to stop killing babies for convenience.