Possible Republican presidential contenders have asked the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, arguing in court documents the 1973 decision was unconstitutional.
GOP lawmakers possibly positioning themselves for a 2024 presidential run, such as Sens. Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio and Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas, petitioned the Supreme Court this week to throw out Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which is on the court’s agenda for the 2021-2022 term.
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“If the Court construes Roe … as prohibiting the assertion of vital state interests in regulating abortion — such as protecting women from dangerous late-term abortions … these precedents should be reconsidered and, where necessary, wholly or partially overruled,” Rubio and Cotton wrote with 42 other senators and 184 House members in a brief filed to the Supreme Court on Thursday.
The term “viability” is key in this case because infants are generally believed to be able to survive outside the womb after 22-24 weeks gestation. However, obstetricians vary in their determination of viability.
Meanwhile, 12 Republican governors, including DeSantis and Abbott, filed their own amicus brief this week to pressure the court to overturn Roe, arguing the decision to legalize the procedure should be left to individual states.
“Rather than creating a federal constitutional right, the Court should leave regulating abortion to the States, where the people may act through the democratic process,” the brief said. “This Court should … help restore the constitutional (but currently disrupted) balance between the Federal Government and the States.”
DeSantis, who is also speculated to be considering a run for the White House in 2024, signed his state on to the brief on Thursday. Abbott signed a six-week abortion ban that would authorize private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” the procedure.
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Anti-abortion advocacy groups that called for the high court to throw out Roe, such as March for Life and Susan B. Anthony List research arm Charlotte Lozier Institute, also filed amicus briefs this week.
“The Supreme Court’s abortion rulings have been predicated on scientific information that was current several decades ago … those precedents are not merely out of date, but severely out of touch and cruel,” said Charlotte Lozier Institute President Chuck Donovan on Thursday. “Late-term abortion limits are grounded in science and compassion for mother and baby.”
