Washington D.C. — July 28, 2021. Today, the Center for Religious Expression (CRE) filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging Roe v. Wade and its viability rule that has led to deaths of over 60 million unborn children through legal abortion.
CRE’s brief supports the State of Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., a case the Supreme Court will hear this fall. In Dobbs, Jackson Women’s Health Organization (JWHO), the State’s last remaining abortion clinic, is challenging a law the Mississippi legislature passed and the Governor signed in 2018 banning abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy gestation. Roe’s viability rule currently shields abortions after 15 weeks because case law does not consider unborn children “viable” outside the womb until latter stages of pregnancy. Mississippi lost at the district court and appellate levels, but the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case signals a willingness to revisit Roe and the viability rule.
CRE’s amicus brief takes direct aim at the viability rule and urges the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade and jettison the flawed viability standard once and for all. As argued in the brief, CRE contends Mississippi and other states should be free to regulate abortion at the point they can detect signs of human life, starting at conception.
“Viability is not and has never been an appropriate standard for states in advancing their interest in protecting human life” said CRE Chief Counsel Nate Kellum. “The Supreme Court has historically departed from precedent that has no constitutional footing. It is time to do so with Roe v. Wade and the ill-conceived viability rule.”
