Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. ___ (2022), Supreme Court of the United States; 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022).
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization is one of the most consequential constitutional decisions of the modern era.
Does the Constitution confer a right to obtain an abortion such that states may not prohibit pre-viability abortions, and should Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey be overruled?
The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. Unenumerated rights protected by the Due Process Clause must be deeply rooted in the Nation's history and tradition and implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey are overruled. The authority to regulate or prohibit abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives, and abortion regulations are reviewed under rational basis unless they implicate a separate, specific constitutional provision. Legitimate state interests include respect for and preservation of prenatal life at all stages of development, the protection of maternal health and safety, the elimination of particularly gruesome or barbaric medical procedures, the integrity of the medical profession, and the mitigation of fetal pain.
The Supreme Court held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and overruled Roe and Casey. It upheld Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban and reversed the Fifth Circuit, remanding for further proceedings. After Dobbs, state abortion laws are evaluated under rational basis review unless another constitutional protection is implicated.
Dobbs overhauls the constitutional landscape of reproductive rights by eliminating the federal constitutional protection for abortion recognized in Roe and Casey. It returns primary authority over abortion policy to states, prompting a patchwork of laws ranging from near-total bans to statutory protections. The case reshapes substantive due process jurisprudence by reaffirming a history-and-tradition methodology and rejecting viability and the undue burden test. It also provides a prominent, controversial application of stare decisis, offering a case study in when the Court will overrule entrenched precedent. For law students, Dobbs is essential to understanding: (1) the Glucksberg test for unenumerated rights; (2) rational basis review in morally contested areas; (3) the institutional role of the Court vis-à-vis democratic processes; and (4) the ongoing doctrinal and practical consequences, including state constitutional litigation, questions about interstate travel, medication abortion, and the scope of federal preemption and federal statutory obligations.