This week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which challenges Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and could reverse the Supreme Court’s past decision on Roe v. Wade. When the Supreme Court announced they would hear the case, they specifically said they would consider the question, "Are all pre-viability bans on abortion unconstitutional?" When Roe v. Wade was decided, scientists and doctors claimed that babies were considered viable at 28 weeks. Since then, medical advancements have pushed the age of viability earlier and earlier. With today's medical care, premature babies can survive at 22 weeks or even earlier, meaning babies are able to survive at least a month and a half earlier than they were when Roe was decided. The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision late June or early July.
This week, I gave remarks on the House floor in support of overturning Roe v. Wade. Human life begins at conception. Just five weeks into a pregnancy, an unborn baby’s heart begins to beat, and his or her brain and spinal cord are beginning to develop. At ten weeks, they have fingers and toes. At fifteen weeks, they have fully developed hearts. They can taste, make facial expressions, yawn, hiccup, swallow, and suck their thumbs. They can feel pain. However, for 48 years, the Roe v. Wade decision has trampled the democratic process and abandoned the unborn. Since the 1973 decision, over 62 million abortions have been performed – that’s over one million per year. This is a disgraceful attack on human life. It’s imperative that the legislative powers to make laws, especially of this magnitude, be vested in the people’s representatives and not nine unelected judges. Arkansans and citizens across this nation want to protect life, but their hands have been tied by the Supreme Court. I urge the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. It’s time to return the abortion debate back to where it belongs – with the people. Watch my full remarks here.
