The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the Mississippi abortion law that placed a limit of 15 weeks on terminations of pregnancies. The U.S. Solicitor General (SG) Elizabeth Prelogar argued against it and Mississippi SG Scott Stewart argued to uphold it.
There's nothing new about their advocacy positions. What is new is that the Supreme Court now has three new strict constructionist justices on the bench. Arguments were presented forcefully and prompted a number of probing questions from the Justices on the 'viability standard' (fetus survivability), states' rights, court politicization and court neutrality. While it's always difficult to handicap how the Justices will come down on a given case, court followers and some in the media were quick to opine about the court's leanings. Within minutes after the oral arguments the Washington Post sent out an email that the court "…appears inclined to uphold Mississippi’s 15-week abortion law, a move that would undermine Roe v. Wade."
Talk about jumping the gun! This case that will probably consume the next 4-5 months of the court's time and it's guesswork to predict how it will rule on a case that could impact the Roe vs. Wade decision, but it is one that Left-wing media outlets like WAPO happily indulge in because they are sympathetic to pro-abortion groups rather than be objective news reporting organizations. The U.S. SG talked fast, and it was sometimes difficult to keep up with her bobbing and weaving between her arguments, but she was well-prepared and pressed her case vigorously.
New Mexico is one of only a few states that allow third trimester abortions. The state doesn't have any of the major types of abortion restrictions such as waiting periods, mandated parental involvement or limitations on publicly funded abortions. Partial birth abortions, however, are not permitted. According to CDC data for 2018, 3,847 abortions were performed in the state which translated into 14.3% of all pregnancies for that year. Abortions have been on the decline since 2014 as have the number of abortion clinics, but the state has seen a recent increase in performing abortions for out-of-state residents due to Texas' new abortion law.
Justice Kavanaugh was very vocal about keeping the court non-political and from legislating from the bench. He joined Justices Alito and Thomas who questioned the need to return such matters to the purview of the states which would set limits on when an abortion could take place. It's obvious that the Left fears a reversal of Roe vs. Wade which many legal scholars and even the now deceased Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called a flawed decision. While the fear is real, it may not be rooted in probability as 50 years and over 62 million abortions have become part of America's abortion history and would likely continue in Blue states. The Left desperately wants to avoid questions like: "Should the Federal government decide when or if a woman has an abortion or "Should the Federal government sanction the destruction of human life and determine a timeline for that destruction?" Justice Sonia Sotomayor openly asked the Mississippi SG, "How is your interest anything but a religious view?" She also pushed back against Justice Kavanaugh’s comments on precedent by asking SG Stewart when the life of a woman and the risk she endures come into the calculus: “The state is saying to these women that we can choose to not only physically complicate your existence, put you at medical risk, make you poorer by the choice, because we believe…what?”
Either Sotomayor is blind to the notion that abortion is a life or death issue for all of society and not just those with strong religious convictions or she has already chosen the side of the secularists who believe that the unborn have few if any rights at all. The magnitude and complexity of the abortion issue is a major challenge to all thinking people. We have learned much in the fifty plus years since the Roe and Casey decisions. But that knowledge has come at a high price - the loss of millions of potential lives of young Americans who will never breathe a single breath of freedom in a country that professes to protect all of its citizens.
Stephan Helgesen is a retired career U.S. diplomat and author living in Tijeras, New Mexico.
