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228 GOP lawmakers urge SCOTUS to overturn Roe v. Wade
Abortion laws should be determines by states, they said
By Caitlin McFall
A total of 228 Republican lawmakers urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in an amicus brief filed Thursday stating that it's time to "resolve the bitter culture war" the 1973 decision started in regard to abortion rights.
The lawmakers, which included 44 senators and 184 House members, called for the reversal of the federal ruling in order to allow states to determine their own abortion laws.
"Congress and the States have shown that they are ready and able to address the issue in ways that reflect Americans’ varying viewpoints and are grounded in the science of fetal development and maternal health," the lawmakers wrote.
Top GOP leaders like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were among the signatories.
They further called for the reversal of the 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that found establishing restrictions on abortion were unconstitutional as they placed an "undue burden" on a woman prior to fetal viability.
The brief was filed following the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year to hear a challenge on Mississippi’s 2018 ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Lower courts ruled against the ban, arguing it violated a woman's constitutional right to an abortion under Roe v. Wade and subsequent Supreme Court rulings.
The high court agreed to hear the appeal last year and announced they would review the case this fall.
"In taking Mississippi’s pro-life law, the Supreme Court has a chance to reconsider the current misguided abortion jurisprudence," Mississippi GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith said Thursday. "As a Senator, as a woman, and as a mother, I think this case offers us a chance to overturn roe and return the abortion issue to the political process and away from activist judges."
Democrats and abortion rights activists remain concerned about the future of Roe v. Wade, which they believe is crucial in upholding a woman's right to her own reproductive health.
The Supreme Court now sits twice as many justices instated under Republican administrations than Democratic – leading to a growing concern among progressives that the conservative justices could reverse the landmark rulings
A decision by the Supreme Court is not expected to be made until next spring.