Mississippi A.G. Lynn Fitch Asks Supreme Court To Overturn Roe V. Wade Calling It ‘Egregiously Wrong’

On Thursday, Mississippi’s Attorney General Lynn Fitch called Roe v. Wade “egregiously wrong” and asked the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling, barring abortions after 15 weeks.

Roe v. Wade currently allows abortion prior to “viability,” which occurs at 24 weeks of pregnancy.

In a new brief, Fitch stated: “The conclusion that abortion is a constitutional right has no basis in text, structure, history, or tradition.”

This news comes as states across the country are looking to implement restrictive abortion regulations, in an attempt to override the constitutional right established in 1973 with Roe.

Justice Clarence Thomas has spoken out on the issue, reaffirming his belief that Roe is “grievously wrong for many reasons.”

The Supreme Court has decided to re-examine Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, with oral arguments expected to be heard in late fall or winter.

The Act, which only allows abortion after 15 weeks in case of “medical emergencies or severe fetal abnormality,” and does not make exceptions for rape or incest, is highly controversial.

Fitch claims it is “constitutional.”

She argued that the law “rationally furthers valid interests in protecting unborn life, women’s health, and the medical profession’s integrity.”

Under the Gestational Age Act, doctors performing abortions outside the parameters of the law will have their medical licenses revoked. They may also be subjected to additional penalties or fines.

A panel of judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the law. “In an unbroken line dating to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s abortion cases have established (and affirmed and re-affirmed) a woman’s right to choose an abortion before viability. States may regulate abortion procedures prior to viability so long as they do not ban abortions,” the court said in its decision.

The court added that “the law at issue is a ban.”

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) claims that the law is an opportunity for the Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade. “The question is not are you going to overturn Roe v. Wade, the question is: The science has changed and therefore it makes sense for the court to review their decisions from the past and this is a vehicle in which for them to do it,” Reeves said.

Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the only licensed abortion facility in Mississippi, and its director, Sacheen Carr-Ellis, are challenging the law.

The Center for Reproductive Rights is representing them, arguing that before viability “it is up to the pregnant person, and not the State, to make the ultimate decision whether to continue a pregnancy.”

Article by Elizabeth Letsou