Health Organization1 has upended abortion jurisprudence. The case concerned a Mississippi law barring most abortions when the probable gestational age of the fetus was greater than fifteen weeks.2 Holding that the U.S. Constitution did not protect a right to abortion through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,3 the Court overruled Roe v. Wade4 and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey.
5 Abortion, it explained, differed from other protected acts because abortion destroyed potential life.6 Deeming rational basis review appropriate,7 the Court concluded that the Mississippi law was rationally related to what the Court accepted as legitimate state interests: protecting the unborn and pregnant people, halting “barbaric” procedures, and preserving the integrity of the medical profession.8 The Court’s standard of review, rationale, and outcome signaled that laws prohibiting abortion are now valid, including those that apply as soon as a pregnancy begins
