Skip to content
Center for Reproductive Rights
Center for Reproductive Rights

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • The Center’s Impact
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Annual Reports
    • Corporate Engagement
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • Cases Archive
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Global Advocacy
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Stories
    • Events
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Press Releases
    • Statements
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • U.S. Abortion Rights: Resources
    • Maps
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
    • Repro Red Flags: Agency Watch
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Make a Donor Advised Fund Gift
    • Leave a Legacy Gift
    • Donate Gifts of Stock
    • Give a Gift in Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Employee Matching Gifts
    • Mail a Check
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
Donate
icon-hamburger icon-magnifying-glass Donate
icon-magnifying-glass-teal

Thousands of Voices Urge U.S. Supreme Court to Strike Down Mississippi Abortion Ban and Protect the Right to Abortion

Center for Reproductive Rights - Center for Reproductive Rights - search logo
search Close Close icon
Center for Reproductive Rights -
Menu Close Menu Close icon
Donate

Primary Menu

  • About
    • Overview
    • The Center’s Impact
    • Center Leadership & Staff
    • Annual Reports
    • Corporate Engagement
    • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Work
    • Overview
    • Litigation
    • Legal Policy and Advocacy
    • Resources & Research
    • Recent Case Highlights
    • Landmark Cases
    • Cases Archive
    • World’s Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
  • Issues
    • Overview
    • Abortion
    • Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
    • Assisted Reproduction
    • Contraception
    • Humanitarian Settings
    • Maternal Health
    • COVID-19
  • Regions
    • Overview
    • Global Advocacy
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America and the Caribbean
    • United States
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Stories
    • Events
    • Center in the Spotlight
    • Press Releases
    • Statements
    • Press Room
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Resources & Research
    • U.S. Abortion Rights: Resources
    • Maps
    • World Abortion Laws Map
    • After Roe Fell: Abortion Laws by State
    • Repro Red Flags: Agency Watch
  • Act
    • Overview
    • Give
    • Act
    • Learn
  • Donate
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • Make a Donor Advised Fund Gift
    • Leave a Legacy Gift
    • Donate Gifts of Stock
    • Give a Gift in Honor
    • Attend an Event
    • Employee Matching Gifts
    • Mail a Check
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Related Content

Issues:

Abortion, Legal Restrictions

Regions:

United States

Work:

In the Courts

Type:

News, Story

Case Archive

For updates on Center cases, explore our case archive here.

Follow the Center

Donate Now

Join Now

09.21.2021

In the Courts Abortion United States News

Thousands of Voices Urge U.S. Supreme Court to Strike Down Mississippi Abortion Ban and Protect the Right to Abortion

Virginia Sobol
Citing decades of precedent and the harm of abortion bans, people impacted by bans and experts in law, reproductive justice, medicine, and human rights submit “friend-of-the court” briefs supporting the Center’s case.

Share

  • facebook
  • Twitter
  • linkedin
  • Email id
Photo credit: Jacqueline Sobol

A broad range of legal, medical, and justice experts—and people and communities impacted by abortion access and restrictions—filed “friend-of-the-court” briefs yesterday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and protect the right to abortion. 

The briefs—citing the harm of abortion bans and the need for the Supreme Court to adhere to decades of precedent on abortion rights—were submitted in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case challenging the ban brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights and its co-counsel. The case will be argued at the Supreme Court on December 1, 2021. 

Representing nearly ten thousand individuals, hundreds of organizations, and over a thousand government officials, more than 50 briefs were submitted on behalf of:

  • Experts in areas such as constitutional law, history, international human rights, public health, medicine, economics, civil rights, and Reproductive Justice.
  • A broad range of people—including professional athletes, women lawyers, and young women—who have relied on having the right to abortion to pursue their goals, as well as people in every state who have had abortions.
  • Professional organizations and groups representing Black women and other communities most impacted by abortion restrictions in Mississippi and nationwide.
  • Officials from state, local, and federal governments.

Stakes are Higher Than Ever for Abortion Rights

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization represents the first time since Roe v. Wade in 1973 that the Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of a pre-viability abortion ban. Since Roe, the Court has repeatedly reaffirmed Roe’s core holding that prior to viability, every person has the right to decide to terminate their pregnancy.

WHPA would protect abortion access in the U.S.

Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA)Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) link

Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA)

WHPA is federal legislation that would protect the right to access abortion care throughout the U.S. by creating a safeguard against bans and medically unnecessary restrictions.

The alarming threat to U.S. abortion rights was further raised when, in a separate case, the Supreme Court denied the Center’s request to block a Texas ban on abortion care after approximately six weeks of pregnancy—allowing a clearly unconstitutional law to take effect. Since the Texas ban took effect September 1, almost all abortion care has ended in the state. Designed to avoid judicial review, the Texas law incentivizes private individuals to sue abortion providers and anyone who assists someone in obtaining an abortion after the time limit, which has added to the fear and chaos surrounding the new ban. 

“Thousands of individuals from sports, law, medicine, government, and diverse walks of life are stepping forward to have their voices heard by the Supreme Court,” said Nancy Northup, the Center’s President and CEO. “The situation in Texas right now has given us a preview of the chaos that will ensue on an even larger scale nationwide if Roe is overturned. People seeking abortion in the South and Midwest would be forced to travel across the country, and many people would not have the means to do so. We cannot allow this to become our reality.”

Voices Emphasize Harm of Abortion Bans and the Importance of Abortion Rights to Individuals and Society

Briefs filed in the case represent a broad range of voices—including more than 430 organizations and more than 9,500 individuals–defending the right to abortion from a variety of perspectives, including:

  • More than 6,600 individuals who have had abortions joining a brief that shares the experiences of dozens of people about how having access to abortion helped positively shape their lives
  • More than 500 athletes—including U.S. Women’s National Soccer team forward Megan Rapinoe, WNBA All-Star Layshia Clarendon, and more than two dozen Olympians—who recount the tremendous growth of women’s athletics since the Roe decision and how autonomy and reproductive freedom are essential for the ability of individuals to participate in athletics and achieve their personal and professional goals.
  • Reproductive Justice organizations and scholars, explaining how abortion bans are connected to a legacy of state-sanctioned denials of autonomy, and would, like those, disproportionately harm Black women, people of color, and people having difficulty making ends meet.
  • Native American communities, arguing that Mississippi’s abortion ban would exacerbate the harm already done by the federal government’s failure to fulfill its trust obligation to provide reproductive health care to Native people.
  • Constitutional law scholars, who describe how the right to abortion is well grounded in the U.S. Constitution and connected to other freedoms; and that upholding the ban would jeopardize those rights and lead to instability and uncertainty in the law.
  • U.N. Human Rights experts, who argue that the U.S. would contradict its human rights obligations if it upholds the Mississippi abortion ban.
  • American Bar Association and a coalition of women’s bar associations and legal organizations, each arguing that upholding the ban and overturning Roe v. Wade would undermine the rule of law and gender equality.
  • More than 230 Senators and members of Congress, urging the Court to uphold precedent and describing how overturning Roe would have long-term health and economic costs that would exacerbate racial and socioeconomic inequities.
  • U.S. Solicitor General, representing the Biden administration, urging the Court to stand by decades of precedent and emphasizing the damage to the Court and the country of overturning Roe.
  • American Medical Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and other leading medical groups, warning of the ban’s harm to the health of pregnant people, especially those already facing barriers to accessing care.
  • Economists who cite research showing how Roe and the right to abortion helped to advance women’s social and economic life, and overruling Roe would impair that progress.
  • Nearly 900 state legislators, who argue that upholding the ban would upend the already-precarious patchwork of abortion care nationwide and result in disastrous consequences for people seeking abortions and their families, disproportionately impacting people who already experience barriers to health care access.

“These thousands of voices—including many new ones—demonstrate a groundswell of overwhelming support for abortion rights, liberty rights, and racial, gender, and economic justice,” said Hillary Schneller, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center. “We’re grateful to each of these individuals and groups for supporting this case and making clear to the Supreme Court how important abortion rights are to people’s lives—not just in Mississippi, but throughout the entire country.”

For more information on these and other “friend-of-the-court” briefs filed supporting the Center’s case, click here for the “Amicus briefs” page for the case.

Read more about the case: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Tags: mississippi 15-week ban, mississippi abortion ban, Mississippi abortion laws, amicus briefs, friend-of-the-court briefs, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

Related Posts

Roe at Risk: U.S. Supreme Court to Review Mississippi’s Abortion Ban, a Direct Challenge to Roe v. Wade

The Center for Reproductive Rights will return to the United States Supreme Court next term to defend the right to...

Abortion,United States,In the Courts
Roe at Risk: U.S. Supreme Court to Review Mississippi’s Abortion Ban, a Direct Challenge to Roe v. Wade

Mississippi Abortion Ban Case Before the U.S. Supreme Court Poses a Direct Challenge to Roe v. Wade

The Center for Reproductive Rights will defend the right to abortion at the U.S. Supreme Court this fall in Dobbs...

Abortion, Legal Restrictions,United States,In the Courts
Mississippi Abortion Ban Case Before the U.S. Supreme Court Poses a Direct Challenge to Roe v. Wade

In Mississippi’s Effort to Take Away Abortion Rights, Disregard for Those Impacted

In its opening brief to defend a state abortion ban, Mississippi urges the U.S. Supreme Court to take away the...

Abortion, Legal Restrictions,United States,In the Courts
In Mississippi’s Effort to Take Away Abortion Rights, Disregard for Those Impacted

Sign up for email updates.

The most up-to-date news on reproductive rights, delivered straight to you.

Footer Menu

  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Gift Acceptance Policy
  • Contact Us

Center for Reproductive Rights
© (1992-2024)

Use of this site signifies agreement with our disclaimer and privacy policy.

Better Business Bureau Charity Watch Top Rated Center for Reproductive Rights
This site uses necessary, analytics and social media cookies to improve your experience and deliver targeted advertising. Click "Options" or click here to learn more and customize your cookie settings, otherwise please click "Accept" to proceed.
OPTIONSACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_UA-6619340-11 minuteNo description
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
_parsely_session30 minutesThis cookie is used to track the behavior of a user within the current session.
HotJar: _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjFirstSeen30 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjid1 yearThis cookie is set by Hotjar. This cookie is set when the customer first lands on a page with the Hotjar script. It is used to persist the random user ID, unique to that site on the browser. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID.
HotJar: _hjIncludedInPageviewSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjIncludedInSessionSample2 minutesNo description
HotJar: _hjTLDTestsessionNo description
SSCVER1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for online advertising by creating user profile based on their preferences.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
IMRID1 year 24 daysThe domain of this cookie is owned by Nielsen. The cookie is used for storing the start and end of the user session for nielsen statistics. It helps in consumer profiling for online advertising.
personalization_id2 yearsThis cookie is set by twitter.com. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting.
TDID1 yearThe cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
adEdition1 dayNo description
akaas_MSNBC10 daysNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearNo description
geoEdition1 dayNo description
next-i18next1 yearNo description
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Scroll Up