What did Dobbs v. Jackson decide?
On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. By a vote of 6-3, the court upheld Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, which had banned abortion after 15 weeks with limited exceptions. The court further ruled by a 5-4 vote to overturn its previous rulings in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, declaring those cases were wrongly decided. The majority found no basis in the U.S. Constitution or the legislative history of the nation for a right to abortion. They also rejected the “undue burden” standard established in their 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, which had allowed some abortion restrictions to be enacted post-viability.
Dobbs restored the right of the American people to deliberate and establish abortion policy through the democratic process.
See also What is the legal status of abortion in the United States?, What did Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decide?, What legal restrictions on abortion have states enacted?, and At what point in pregnancy does the fetus become viable?
Sources:
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022).
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992).
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).
Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973).
