Lankford, Colleagues Urge SCOTUS to Overturn Roe v. Wade

WASHINGTON, DC –  Senator James Lankford (R-OK) joined an amicus brief signed by more than 220 members of Congress supporting the state of Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which presents the Supreme Court with the opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade.  

“The right to life is the most fundamental human right,” said Lankford. “The government has the responsibility to honor the gift of life at every stage, born or unborn. Unlike other Supreme Court precedents, our culture has not accepted the standard set by Roe 48 years ago. Dobbs presents the Court with a historical opportunity to correct the most tragic injustice our nation has permitted—the elective killing of our children. Overturning Roe v. Wade would send the legal question about abortion back to each state, but it would not bring back the more than 62 million innocent lives taken by abortion since 1973. I look forward to the day when our nation and laws value every human life, no matter how small or how vulnerable.”

The state of Mississippi in 2018 enacted the Gestational Age Act, a state law prohibiting elective abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation, except in cases of medical emergency. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization, an abortion clinic in Jackson, MS, sued on the grounds that the law violates the viability standard established by Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision on these grounds. 

This fall, the Supreme Court will hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health to consider the question of whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional. This case represents the most significant challenge to Roe v. Wade and the viability standard in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in a generation. The State of Mississippi filed its case with the Supreme Court on July 22, 2021.

Click here to read the full amicus brief.

The amicus brief is supported by Susan B. Anthony List, National Right to Life, March for Life, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Students for Life, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, and Heritage Action.

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