November 2022 Church & State Magazine

U.S. Supreme Court Declines New Abortion-Related Case

  U.S. Supreme Court Declines New Abortion-Related Case

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Oct. 11 that it will not hear a case that argues that fetuses are entitled to constitutional rights.

The lawsuit, Doe v. McKee, was brought by an anti-abortion group that challenged a 2019 Rhode Island law that codified abortion as a legal right, using the standard laid down in 1973’s Roe v. Wade. The Roe ruling was overturned by the high court June 24.

The anti-abortion group, Catholics for Life, represented two pregnant women who argued that the state’s abortion policy violates the “personhood” of fetuses, reported Religion News Service.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit in May, holding that fetuses lack legal standing. The U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case brings the matter to a close.

Anti-abortion groups have advocated for “fetal personhood” for years. If the Supreme Court were to adopt the standard, it could mean that abortion would be criminalized nationwide.

BREAKING NEWS

Americans United & the National Women’s Law Center file suit to challenge Missouri’s abortion bans.

Abortion bans violate the separation of church and state. Americans United and the National Women’s Law Center—the leading experts in religious freedom and gender justice—have joined forces with thirteen clergy from six faith traditions to challenge Missouri’s abortion bans as unconstitutionally imposing one narrow religious doctrine on everyone.


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