Supreme Court will hear arguments in Miss. abortion case on Dec. 1

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT/NBC News) - The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Dec. 1 in a case that threatens to overturn the decades-old abortion protections established under Roe v. Wade.

The case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, takes aim at the Supreme Court precedent barring states from banning abortions prior to a fetus becoming viable, or capable of living outside the womb.

It centers on a 2018 law in Mississippi that bans most abortions after 15 weeks, a cutoff that is significantly earlier than the general fetal viability standard of around 22 weeks. The law was blocked by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The news comes after nearly 900 state legislators from 45 states asked the Supreme Court on Monday to uphold Roe v. Wade and reject Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, a direct attack on the landmark decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

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