Cecil Hannibal | WAPT | July 31, 2021
JACKSON, Miss. - Attorney General Lynn Fitch said she is excited to take on a 1973 ruling that legalizes abortion nationwide.
Fitch said the Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in her case to overturn the law in November. Her case is centered around Mississippi's ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court agreed to review the case in May.
"This is about protecting the unborn, protecting women and their health and it is also about protecting the healthcare profession, so many things have changed within the last 50 years and society is moving forward, science is moving forward and it is time that the courts move forward as well," Fitch said.
Gov. Tate Reeves also addressed the state's future on the battle in the Supreme Court that stems from a 2018 Mississippi law that banned abortions at 15 weeks that was later blocked in federal court.
"It is my goal to ultimately overturn roe v wade because I think the court got it wrong then," Reeves said. "Quite frankly I don’t think this is a federal issue I think every state should decide what its abortion laws should be."
The 15-week ban was passed by state lawmakers in 2018.
Reeves and Attorney General Fitch argue that abortion laws should be decided by individual states and not the Supreme Court.
"These justices decided to take up our case so I feel like they’re going to do something they’re going to address the viability which is the question we’ve asked them," Fitch said.
No one truly knows how the Supreme Court will rule, but with three conservative judges appointed by former President Donald Trump.
There is now a 6-3 consecutive majority on the high court. Overturning Roe v. Wade won't stop abortions from happening.
The ACLU of Mississippi said in a statement that it will only make them less safe. It's time for politicians to stop playing with health care, and start accepting reproductive rights as constitutional rights, said the ACLU.
