Jul 30, 2021 - Politics

DeSantis signs onto Supreme Court brief supporting Mississippi effort to toss out Roe v. Wade

Selene San Felice

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined ten other Republican governors Thursday in asking the Supreme Court to essentially let states ban abortion and regulate it in ways not currently allowed, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Why it matters: With the court’s newly-installed 6-3 conservative majority, this is the best chance Republicans have had in decades to take on abortion rights.

What happened: The governors asked the court to reconsider its past decisions in 1973’s Roe v. Wade and 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

Those cases established and reaffirmed the national constitutional right to an abortion, though Casey also made it easier for states to regulate abortion.
The brief DeSantis signed onto was filed in support of a 2018 Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks. Mississippi wants the court to overturn Roe and Casey.
Another brief filed by 228 congressional Republicans asked the same, writing that the rulings represent “a vise grip on abortion politics.”

The big picture: More abortion restrictions have been enacted across the U.S. this year than in any other, according to a new Guttmacher Institute report.

Local angle: Manatee County’s commissioner recently proposed a bill that would limit or ban abortions there, even though Manatee has no abortion facilities.

Pro-choice protesters gathered outside the county administration building on Tuesday.

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DeSantis signs onto Supreme Court brief supporting Mississippi effort to toss out Roe v. Wade

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