During Supreme Court arguments about a Mississippi abortion law, Justice Amy ConeyBarrett raised questions about the impact of safe haven laws.
Jackson Women's Health Organization is a case that threatens abortion rights established during the 1973 ruling of the US Supreme Court.
The Mississippi law does not allow abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, despite the fact that it is against the law in many states to have abortions before 24 weeks.
Those in favor of the law say that parenthood is no longer an burden. The attorney for Jackson Women's Health was questioned by Justice Barrett about adoption laws.
I have a question about safe haven laws. After giving birth, you can end parental rights. The burden of parenting was emphasized in the cases. If women don't want to parent, they don't have to. "Why don't safe haven laws take care of that?" asked Barrett, who has seven kids, two of whom are adopted.
USA Today previously reported that safe haven laws exist in every state and prevent parents from getting into legal trouble for giving up a newborn baby.
The justice asked if safe haven laws would take care of the argument that "forced motherhood would hinder women's access to the workplace and to equal opportunities" and the consequences of parenting and the obligations of motherhood that flow from pregnancy.
It doesn't seem to follow that pregnancy and then parenthood are all part of the same burden. It seems to me that the choice would be between the ability to get an abortion at 23 weeks or the state requiring the woman to go 15 weeks more and then end her parental rights at the conclusion.
Julie Rikelman, the attorney defending the only abortion clinic in the state, responded to the question by saying that forced pregnancy has a negative impact on women and their ability to care for other children.
December 1, 2021.
