May 17, 2021 By Jordan Davidson

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up a case examining whether Mississippi’s pro-life ban on elective abortions 15 weeks into pregnancy is unconstitutional.

This particular restriction in Missippi was first enacted in 2018 and allowed abortions after the 15-week date for “medical emergencies” and “severe” fetal abnormalities. Lower courts, however, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, blocked the law and ruled that it places an undue burden on women who want to abort their child after the state’s deadline.

By choosing to take up Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, justices on the Supreme Court are teeing up to reevaluate “whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional” and potentially change how landmark abortion cases such as Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey affect Americans.

Pro-life activists celebrated the decision as a step in the right direction to ban abortion altogether.