A ruling on the Mississippi abortion ban in the Supreme Court could mean an abortion ban in Texas – regardless of whether Texas' own controversial abortion law, Senate Bill 8, or the Heartbeat Act, is upheld or not.
During arguments Wednesday morning, Justice John Roberts asked the solicitor general of Mississippi about Mississippi's changing strategy in its case Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health. When Mississippi petitioned the Supreme Court to take up the case Roberts said the case would not ask the court to overturn Roe vs. Wade, but when the court agreed to hear it, the state's strategy changed.
Even with a conservative majority among the justices – that's a big task. "From what we've seen - and most recently with Kavanaugh - that he had a concurring opinion which basically supported you don't change, you don't overrule landmark cases by the Supreme Court. You just don't do it, unless they were egregiously wrong," said Eric Cedillo, a law professor at Southern Methodist University.
If the high court agrees with Mississippi and overturns Roe vs. Wade and Casey vs. Planned Parenthood, it means a ban on abortion would go into effect because of a trigger law passed and signed earlier this year. That's separate from Senate Bill 8. "It is the right to life which is exactly why I signed that law to ensure that any baby with a heartbeat will be saved from the ravages from abortion," said Governor Greg Abbott at a recent event.
"They could totally get rid of Roe vs. Wade. The possibility may exist, of course, that states may have the ability to ban abortion altogether. Here in the state of Texas and 11 other states, we have what are called 'trigger laws.' so, if Roe vs. Wade is overturned, they'll actually go into effect, and abortion will be banned here in the state of Texas. The implications are huge," Cedillo said.
We will not hear the Supreme Court's decision for months. But the Center for Reproductive Rights – one of the plaintiffs in the Texas case – spoke to reporters today. "It has been recognized as a human right by human rights bodies and so the US will be very out of step with the trend globally toward liberalizing abortion," Nancy Northrup said.
There are different arguments in the Texas case in front of the court, Senate Bill 8, so in some ways, even if the Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade and the trigger law goes into effect – that is a separate case.