Fetal viability is at the center of Mississippi abortion case. Here’s why.

Conservative justices questioned that legal and scientific framework in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case that could change abortion rights

The Jackson Women's Health Organization clinic is challenging Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

When the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments over Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, it focused on a single question: Whether “fetal viability” is legitimate criteria for how far states may go to restrict women’s access to abortion.

In the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the court majority held that a women’s right to choose to end a pregnancy was protected by the Constitution, but that states could limit that right after the second trimester or 28 weeks, when a fetus might survive outside the womb. In 1992′s Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court affirmed that right but opted for a framework based on fetal viability rather than trimesters.

Here’s why that’s important and what it means for the case currently before the court, and more broadly, for abortion rights in the United States.

Abortion access in America

Tracking abortion access in the U.S.: After the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the legality of abortion is left to individual states. The Post is tracking states where abortion is legal, banned or under threat.

Abortion pills: The Justice Department appealed a Texas judge’s decision that would block approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. The Supreme Court decided to retain full access to mifepristone as the appeal proceeds. Here’s an explanation of what happens next in the abortion pill case.

Post-Roe America: With Roe overturned, women who had secret abortions before Roe v. Wade felt compelled to speak out. Other women who were seeking abortions while living in states with strict abortion bans also shared their experiences with The Post through calls, text messages and other documentation. Here are photos and stories from across America since the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

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