Mississippi will make its abortion case to the high court

Nowhere does the U.S. Constitution establish a right to have an abortion, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch told the Supreme Court. The justices have agreed to hear the case challenging the state’s law protecting babies from abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation. Fitch filed Mississippi’s brief in support of the law on Thursday.

What arguments did Mississippi make? “The conclusion that abortion is a constitutional right has no basis in text, structure, history, or tradition,” the brief stated. It pointed out weaknesses in how Roe v. Wade defined a legal right to privacy, and it urged the Supreme Court to return the power to regulate abortion before the age of viability to the states, “where agreement is more common, compromise is more possible, and disagreement can be resolved at the ballot box.” Oral arguments are set for fall, with a decision likely in 2022.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’ report in Vitals about how the case is affecting others like it in federal courts.