July 20, 2022
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, What It Actually Says
On Jun 24, 2022 the United States Supreme Court issued the long awaited decision in Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health et al., v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization et al. The majority decision, along with three concurring opinions and one dissent, is 213 pages long. But here are the most basic points:
- Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided.
- Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey was also wrongly decided. (Casey was a successor case to Roe v. Wade in which the US Supreme Court affirmed a woman’s right to obtain an abortion.)
- Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey are both overruled.
- The United States Constitution does not prohibit or limit abortion.
- Whether a woman may obtain an abortion and any related rights and restrictions are questions to be decided by the people and their elected representatives, not by a court.
- Whether a woman may obtain an abortion and any related rights and restrictions are to be decided by each individual state.
- The decision does not take away or limit any other rights, such as for example, the right to marry a person of a different race or of the same sex.