AG HEALEY URGES
U.S. SUPREME COURT TO OVERTURN MISSISSIPPI’S UNCONSTITUTIONAL ABORTION BAN
Mississippi Ban is
Part of a Nationwide Campaign to End Abortion Access; Brief Follows AG Healey’s
Multistate Leadership in Support of DOJ’s Challenge to Texas’ Six-Week Abortion
Ban
BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today joined 24
attorneys general in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold well-established
precedent protecting a woman’s right to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to
term, and to overturn Mississippi’s illegal 15-week abortion ban.
In a brief
filed today, the coalition describes how the Court’s landmark ruling in Roe
v. Wade recognized almost 50 years ago that the Constitution does not
permit states to prohibit a woman from deciding whether to carry her pregnancy,
a holding the Court has repeatedly reaffirmed, including in the landmark ruling
in Planned Parenthood v. Casey almost 30 years ago. The coalition
argues that Mississippi’s ban is unconstitutional under settled law, and that
as such, the Court should continue to uphold this well-established
Constitutional right and precedent.
“Illegal abortion bans like Mississippi’s are dangerous, rob people of their
constitutionally protected rights, and put the lives of millions of Americans
at risk,” AG Healey said. “With our colleagues across the country, we are
committed to protecting the health and safety of our residents and ensuring
that people can access the care they need.”
In March 2018, the governor of Mississippi signed into law what was then the
strictest abortion ban in the country. Since then, 16 states have enacted
pre-viability abortion bans, with 10 doing so just this year. Mississippi’s law
prohibits abortion at 15 weeks, with few exceptions, even in cases of rape or
incest. A federal district court judge struck down the law, stating
that Mississippi “chose to pass a law it knew was unconstitutional...to
ask the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.” The U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling, and
Mississippi then sought review in the Supreme Court.
Mississippi’s attempt to undo decades of
Supreme Court precedent comes amidst years of attempts by other states to end
abortion access in this country, including Texas’ six-week abortion ban – which
went into effect earlier this month and is the most extreme ban to date. Last
week, AG Healey led a coalition of 24 attorneys general in filing an amicus
brief
in support of the United States Department of Justice’s challenge to Texas’
illegal law.
AG Healey is committed to defending the
constitutionally protected right of Massachusetts residents to access
reproductive health care, whether they are in Massachusetts, or working,
travelling, or attending school in other states. She has been at the forefront
of this issue and will continue to stand with residents, health care workers
and advocates in protecting access to this essential care.
Joining AG Healey in filing today’s brief
with the Supreme Court are the attorneys general of California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota,
Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the
District of Columbia.
