Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (U.S. Supreme Court, 2021)

Mississippi passed a law in 2018 that bars abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. ADL joined with the National Women’s Law Center and 71 other organizations on an amicus brief urging that the law — an unmistakable challenge to Roe v. Wade — be found unconstitutional. The brief focuses on due process and explains that the devastating impact of allowing a pre-viability abortion ban to stand — or overturning the right to abortion entirely — will deny the liberty and equality of people who can become pregnant. The brief emphasizes how gutting or overturning the right to abortion would undermine the bodily autonomy of people forced to carry a pregnancy to term; limit the ability of people who can become pregnant to participate equally in social and economic life; and make it more difficult to navigate life’s course free from sex stereotypes regarding the capabilities and expected social roles of women. It highlights how such abortion bans especially harm people with disabilities, those living in poverty, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color. The brief also responds to Mississippi’s argument that the advances in contraceptive access and the existence of gender equality policies obviates the need for the right to abortion.