Current Events in a Post-Roe V. Wade Era
Health and Gender Policy Brief #175 | By: Geoffrey Small | August 08, 2024
Featured Photo: www.pbs.org
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More than two years have passed since The Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. The Court upheld a 2018 law in the State of Mississippi that prohibited abortion operations after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal organization, authored the main model the 2018 Mississippi legislation administered. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Mississippi’s only abortion clinic, challenged the prohibitive law by suing State Health Officer Thomas E. Dobbs. As a result of multiple State District and Fifth Circuit court appeals, which all ruled against Mississippi’s legislation, the case was presented before the Supreme Court. In 2022, the Court’s decision to uphold Mississippi’s law led to a major reversal in Roe v. Wade, a 1973 decision protecting the general constitutional right to have an abortion. It also reversed Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a ruling that ensured states’ abortion laws were not overly restrictive. As a result of this reversal, a wave of policy proposals, legal challenges and state legislation has been enacted. This has created a constant upheaval in U.S. reproductive rights. This series will explore these current events that will impact abortions throughout the United States.
Policy Analysis
On July 29th, President Joe Biden wrote an Op-ed for the Washington Post unveiling his plans to reform the Supreme Court. He cites two major decisions that led to these proposals; the recent Trump v. The United States decision declaring a president has immunity for official acts and the recent decision that reversed Roe v. Wade. In the Op-ed, Biden proposed the “No One is Above the Law Amendment” to the Constitution, which declares no immunity for crimes a president committed during his time in office. Biden’s second proposal enacts 18-year term limits on Supreme Court Justices. His third proposal is creating a binding code of conduct for justices, which require them to disclose gifts, refrain from political activity, and recuse themselves from cases where they, or their spouse, have a financial conflict of interest.
The following day after Biden’s Oped was released, Mylissa Farmer a woman from Kansas City, sued the University of Kansas Health System for refusing to give her an abortion that was deemed medically necessary. She is accusing the University of violating federal laws on emergency room treatment in 2022. The filed federal lawsuit may be the first post-Roe v. Wade case against a hospital. Farmer suffered a premature rupture of membranes at 18 weeks of pregnancy. The pregnancy was determined to be no longer viable and an abortion was needed for Farmer to avoid major health complications. However, at the time of her emergency, the state of Kansas was in the process of deciding on a referendum to eliminate the right to abortion in their constitution. The hospital refused to treat Farmer because it was deemed too “risky” in a “heated” political environment. The referendum ultimately did not pass and the right to abortion was upheld. Farmer stated that the hospital had violated the Emergency Medical Treatment Labor Act, which requires hospitals to stabilize patients with medical emergencies, as well as Kansas anti-discrimination laws.
Until reproductive rights are enshrined in the U.S. constitution, policy proposals, lawsuits, and state laws will continue to change the landscape in accessibility to abortions in the United States. This series will continue to provide the current events that highlight reproductive instability in a post Roe v. Wade environment.
Engagement Resources
Document Resources
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/29/joe-biden-reform-supreme-court-presidential-immunity-plan-announcement/
- https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/legaldocs/lbpglmaxlvq/Farmer v University of Kansas complaint 7-30.pdf
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