ANGELINA CAMPANILE, REPORTER: THE SUPREME COURT HEARD ORAL ARGUMENTS WEDNESDAY ON WHAT LEGAL SCHOLARS CONSIDER TO BE THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL CHALLENGE YET TO THE LANDMARK ROE V. WADE CASE–THE DECISION PROHIBITS STATES FROM OUTRIGHT BANNING ABORTION SERVICES.
A MISSISSIPPI LAW THAT BANS ALMOST ALL ABORTIONS AFTER 15 WEEKS OF PREGNANCY WITH NO EXCEPTIONS FOR RAPE OR INCEST WAS BLOCKED BY A FEDERAL DISTRICT JUDGE FOR CONTRADICTING COURT PRECEDENT.
PROF. JOANNA GRISINGER: I think a lot of people are very worried for the future of Roe and Casey.
CAMPANILE: Are you worried?
GRISINGER: Yes.
JOANNA GRISINGER IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE LEGAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT AT NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY.
CAMPANILE: So how restrictive can a state abortion law get before it’s unconstitutional?
GRISINGER: Well, ultimately unconstitutional is whatever the Supreme Court says, right…Under the existing precedents of the Supreme Court, states may not entirely ban abortion.
IN THE 1973 CASE OF ROE V WADE, THE SUPREME COURT RULED THAT A WOMAN’S CONSTITUTIONAL “RIGHT OF PRIVACY…ENCOMPASSES A WOMAN’S DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO TERMINATE HER PREGNANCY.”
FOLLOWING ROE, IN 1992 THE COURT DECIDED IN PLANNED PARENTHOOD V. CASEY THAT A STATE MAY NOT IMPOSE AN “UNDUE BURDEN” ON A WOMAN’S ABILITY TO TERMINATE A PREGNANCY.
GRISINGER: Now how undo is undo? What is A burden? So it’s suggesting that they can impose a burden. It just can’t be an undue burden.
GRISINGER SAYS THE AMBIGUITY EMBEDDED WITHIN THE COURT’S DECISIONS ON ABORTION LAW ALLOWS STATES LIKE MISSISSIPPI TO PASS RESTRICTIVE STATUTES.
GRISINGER: A lot of the focus of states trying to trying to ban abortion, but really states trying to limit abortion, were through a variety of laws trying to really test the boundaries of what made something an undue burden on abortion.
TEXAS TOOK AN UNPRECEDENTED APPROACH. ITS NEW LAW ALLOWS PRIVATE CITIZENS TO SUE PEOPLE WHO HAVE “AIDED OR ABETTED” PATIENTS THAT HAVE RECIEVED AN ABORTION AFTER SIX WEEKS OF PREGNANCY–BEFORE MOST WOMEN KNOW THEY’RE PREGNANT. GOVERNOR GREG ABBOTT SIGNED THE BILL INTO LAW IN MAY.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): “The life of every unborn child who has a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages of abortion.”
THE SUPREME COURT HEARD THE CASE IN NOVEMBER AFTER A FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERED TEXAS TO SUSPEND THE LAW. HERE’S WHAT JUSTICE SONIA SOTOMAYOR HAD TO SAY.
JUSTICE SONYA SOTOMAYOR: Usually in these chilling effect cases, we’re kind of guessing. ‘Well this would sort of chill me.’ Here we’re not guessing, we know exactly what has happened as a result of this law, it has chilled everybody on the ground.
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC POLICY AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD ILLINOIS ACTION BRIGID LEAHY HELPS WOMEN TRAVELING ACROSS STATE LINES TO RECIEVE AN ABORTION.
LEAHY: This is completely wrong that an entire state would cut off access to this fundamental and important reproductive health care.
LEAHY SAYS JUST DAYS AFTER THE TEXAS BAN WENT INTO EFFECT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD OF ILLINOIS SAW A 30% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF OUT OF STATE PATIENTS.
LEAHY: We cannot forget the people who are unable to make it to the state. And we have to stand up for them and work to make sure that everyone has their rights respected and that your rights do not depend on your zip code.
WHILE SCOTUS CONSIDERS THE TEXAS AND MISSISSIPPI LAWS, THE STATE OF ILLINOIS IS IN THE MIDST OF ITS OWN ABORTION DEBATE. LATE LAST MONTH THE STATE LEGISLATURE VOTED TO REPEAL THE PARENTAL NOTICE OF ABORTION ACT. THE STATUTE WAS PASSED BY A REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED LEGISLATURE IN 1995. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS INCLUDING REPRESENTATIVE JENNIFER GONG-GERSHOWITZ SPEARHEAD THE REPEAL, WHICH GOV JB PRITZKER IS EXPECTED TO SIGN.
IL REP. GONG-GERSHOWITZ (D): Youth seeking to get around parental notification are not coming from the ideal healthy situations that we would hope for all of our children.
ILLINOIS’ PARENTAL NOTIFICATION LAW REQUIRES HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS TO NOTIFY AN ADULT FAMILY MEMBER PRIOR TO PERFORMING AN ABORTION ON A MINOR. IF THE CHILD CHOOSES NOT TO NOTIFY THEIR PARENTS, THEY ARE REQUIRED TO RECEIVE PERMISSION FROM A JUDGE IN COURT.
LEAHY: That is a place that no one should be forced to go to when they’re seeking health care.
REPUBLICAN STATE SENATOR JIL TRACY VOTED WITH EVERY OTHER REPUBLICAN IN THE CHAMBER TO UPHOLD THE LAW.
IL SEN. JIL TRACY (R): Doesn’t it seem illogical as I said last week, illogical, that we think that going under a major medical procedure such as an abortion shouldn’t be given a chance to have the parents involved in that decision or at least be notified that its going to be happening
LEAHY: When a young person becomes pregnant in the state of Illinois, they are able to make all their own health care decisions about themselves and their pregnancy. The only time that the law in Illinois requires parents to be involved, is when it comes to the decision about abortion.
PROFESSOR GRISINGER EXPECTS THE SUPREME COURT’S DECISION ON THE TEXAS CASE AS EARLY AS THIS MONTH.
CAMPANILE: So with the new six, three conservative majority, after Amy Coney Barrett was appointed after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, has the likelihood increased, do you think of overturning Roe v. Wade? What kind of effect do you think that new ratio will have on this case?
GRISINGER: I mean, you know, all attempts to predict the Supreme Court are on some level, you know, just staring into a crystal ball.
CAMPANILE: Well, what do you think, based on your studies of these cases?
GRISINGER: Um, I will say I, I think it’s anytime the Supreme Court even takes a case, there’s a real signaling aspect to that, right. The only reason they took that case is because they might want to reconsider the issue. It’s unlikely that they’re taking the case to affirm what the lower courts did, because that’s sort of a waste of their time. It seems more likely to everyone who’s sort of trying to figure out what the courts gonna do, that they’re taking it because they do want to engage with the question of abortion, the right to privacy, what that all looks like.
THE SUPREME COURT RULING ON THE MISSISSIPPI CASE WON’T BE RELEASED UNTIL JUNE 2022–RIGHT IN THE HEAT OF MIDTERM CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS.
FOR WNUR NEWS, IM ANGELINA CAMPANILE
