Supreme Court sets arguments in big abortion case

Supreme Court, Denies Request, to Stop Texas Abortion Ban.Supreme Court, Denies Request, to Stop Texas Abortion Ban.A request from Texas abortion providers to freeze a state law that bars abortions after six weeks has been formally denied by the Supreme Court.A request from Texas abortion providers to freeze a state law that bars abortions after six weeks has been formally denied by the Supreme Court.CNN reports that Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal justices in dissent.CNN reports that Chief Justice John Roberts joined the three liberal justices in dissent.The decision by the court means that the law will remain in place. .In an unsigned opinion, the majority wrote that the abortion providers had raised, "serious questions regarding the constitutionality of the Texas law.".However, the court said it was not enough to block the law at this time due to "complex" and "novel" procedural questions.In particular, this order is not based on any conclusion about the constitutionality of Texas' law, and in no way limits other procedurally proper challenges to the Texas law, including in Texas state courts, Supreme Court, majority statement, via CNN.Several justices dissented from the majority.Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by her two liberal colleagues, called the majority's decision , "stunning.".Presented with an application to enjoin a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, a majority of Justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, via CNN.Presented with an application to enjoin a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny, a majority of Justices have opted to bury their heads in the sand, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, via CNN.The Court should not be so content to ignore its constitutional obligations to protect not only the rights of women, but also the sanctity of its precedents and of the rule of law, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, via CNN

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will hear arguments Dec. 1 in Mississippi’s bid to have the landmark Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing a woman’s right to an abortion overturned.

The court issued its arguments calendar for late November and early December on Monday.

Mississippi is asking the high court to uphold its ban on most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. The state has told the court it should overrule Roe and the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that prevent states from banning abortion before viability, the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The court recently allowed a Texas law to take effect that bans abortions after cardiac activity can be detected, around six weeks of pregnancy, before some women even know they are pregnant. The law is unusual in that it allows private citizens to sue people who may have facilitated a prohibited abortion. The court, split 5-4, did not rule on the constitutionality of the law, but rather declined to block enforcement while a challenge to the law plays out in the courts.

Still, abortion providers took the vote as an ominous sign about where the court, its conservative majority fortified with three appointees of former President Donald Trump, might head on abortion.

The providers have said Mississippi wants the court to “scuttle a half-century of precedent and invite states to ban abortion entirely.”

The Mississippi law was enacted in 2018 but was blocked after a federal court challenge. The state’s only abortion clinic, Jackson Women’s Health Organization, remains open and offers abortions up to 16 weeks of pregnancy. About 100 abortions a year are done after the 15th week, the providers said.

More than 90% of abortions in the U.S. take place in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The justices will be at their seats in the marble courtroom for the biggest test of abortion rights in decades.

The high court announced earlier this month that the justices plan to return to their majestic, marble courtroom for arguments beginning in October, more than a year and a half after the in-person sessions were halted because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The court is allowing live audio of the session, but members of the public will not be able to attend in person because of the pandemic. Reporters who cover the court regularly will be present.

The justices all have been vaccinated, the court has said, allowing a return to in-person arguments after more than a year of arguments via telephone. The courthouse remains closed to the public.

The justices had been hearing cases by phone during the pandemic.