Roe v. Wade Will Come Under Attack

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With President Trump’s appointment of another conservative judge to the Supreme Court, pro-life activists feel that now may be their opportunity to attack Roe v. Wade. Jessie Hellmann reports at The Hill:

State lawmakers and anti-abortion groups across the U.S. have ramped up their push for restrictions on abortion, part of a strategy to get the Supreme Court to re-examine — and overturn — Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion.

Emboldened by the Trump administration and possible changes to the makeup of the Supreme Court, more states are looking at laws that would ban abortion at a certain point in pregnancy.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) signed a bill earlier this month banning abortions after 15 weeks. If it survives legal challenge, it would be the earliest ban in the country.

While the Supreme Court has declined to review many abortion cases in recent years, including fetal heartbeat bills blocked by lower courts in North Dakota and Arkansas and a 20-week abortion ban declared unconstitutional in Arizona, anti-abortion groups think that could change if Trump appoints at least one more Supreme Court justice.

“Under the current administration, we have a new Supreme Court justice who is anti-abortion, and we also have a lot of Trump nominees to the federal courts,” said Heather Shumaker, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, which supports abortion rights.