COURT ABORT THREAT

Roe KO on table

The Supreme Court’s conservative justices suggested Wednesday they may consider gutting abortion rights in America as they weighed Mississippi’s bid to overturn Roe v. Wade, the a landmark ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide nearly 50 years ago.

The justices met to consider the case brought by the Magnolia State that seeks to revive a 2018 state law that bans abortion after 15 weeks.

Mississippi is arguing that the Supreme Court should uphold its 15-week ban by overturning the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, as well as the 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed the Roe ruling.

Under those high court rulings, states can regulate, but not ban, abortion before the point when a fetus can survive outside the womb — roughly 24 weeks.

After nearly two hours of arguments Wednesday, all six conservative justices signaled they would uphold the Mississippi law, and there was support among them for getting rid of Roe and Casey altogether.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Donald Trump appointee, suggested that many states would still “freely allow abortion” even if Roe was overturned because it would let states regulate the procedure themselves.

“If you were to prevail, the states — majority of states or states — still could or and presumably would continue to freely allow abortion,” Kavanaugh said as he questioned Mississippi Solicitor General Scott G. Stewart.

“Many states, some states would be able to do that even if you prevail, under your view. Is that correct?”

Stewart said that was “consistent” with the state’s view.

Kavanaugh also suggested that the court should leave the issue of abortion to the states and “return to the position of neutrality.”

In his opening arguments, Stewart had said the court’s previous decisions on abortion — in both Roe and Casey — “haunt our country” and “have no home in our history or traditions.”

Meanwhile, the three liberal justices suggested in their questioning that overturning the decades-old decisions would damage the court’s legitimacy.

Justice Elena Kagan argued the Supreme Court doesn’t easily overturn past decisions, which prevents people from thinking the court is a “political institution” that changes depending on whose in the majority.

And Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked, “Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?”

She added, “If people actually believe that it’s all political, how will we survive? How will the court survive?”

Chief Justice John Roberts appeared to be more interested in a less sweeping rule that wouldn’t explicitly overturn Roe and Casey.

“That may be what they’re asking for, but the thing at issue before us today is 15 weeks,” Roberts said.

Roberts also was among the conservative justices who questioned the viability line.

“Why is 15 weeks not enough time?” Roberts asked at one point.

The Supreme Court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority.