SAN ANTONIO (KABB/WOAI) - The landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade could soon be no more.
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday on Mississippi's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The case in question challenges a 2018 law in Mississippi that banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy except in cases of medical emergencies or if a fetus has suffered abnormalities.
Mississippi's only abortion clinic sued and a district court struck down the law which sent it to the 5th U.S. circuit court of appeals in New Orleans.
The 5th circuit upheld the lower court’s ruling.
What happens next could have impacts on Texas, which is currently facing its own abortion battle.
"If the supreme court upholds Mississippi’s law we know that about 20 states will immediately enact legislation that will limit abortion access in the country," says Caroline Duble, the political director for Texas pro-choice group AVOW. "And what’s happening in Texas will become a reality for half of the country."
Duble says Texas is already experiencing the fallout that an abortion ban has on limiting options for women.
Others say cases like Roe v. Wade are outdated.
"Roe versus Wade allowed for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy at any stage," says Jonathan Saenz president for Texas Values. "And so for a long time people felt like that’s unconscionable."
Saenz is not surprised Mississippi's case is calling into question the sustainability of Roe v. Wade.
Experts predicted the Supreme Court would rule on Texas' Heartbeat law, which bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, before hearing Dobbs v. Jackson, but no decision has been made.
"The states are already ready for this to happen," says Saenz. "The Supreme Court is really just catching up to what state legislatures through their elected representative, to the people, through this pro-life generation, which is a very young movement, is behind."
No matter the outcome, pro-choice advocates say the choice to keep abortion around is not just up to the Supreme Court.
"People want to believe that the Supreme Court is an objective body, but in reality, justices are appointed by the President who have explicit political agendas," says Duble. "So this will continue to be a fight. AVOW has a plan in place to hold legislators accountable in 2022 for their vote on laws like SB 8."