The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case challenging a Mississippi state law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, much earlier than the 24-week threshold generally established by the pivotal abortion rights case Roe v. Wade in 1973.
Roe v. Wade granted women the right to terminate a pregnancy under specific conditions, and subsequent court rulings have strengthened that precedent. Analysts on both sides of the abortion debate will be watching closely this fall to see whether the court’s new six-justice conservative majority – cemented last year in the waning days of the Trump administration – will weaken Roe v. Wade to restrict the abortion rights of Americans.
As a sociologist who studies women, work and families, I’ve closely examined how the landmark ruling affected women’s educational and occupational opportunities over the past half-century. Continue reading.