Advertisement

U.S. Supreme Court refuses case on rights for the unborn

U.S. Supreme Court declines to weigh in on rights for the unborn.

Justices of the US Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a case concerning the rights of the unborn. Photo by Eric Lee/UPI
Justices of the US Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a case concerning the rights of the unborn. Photo by Eric Lee/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- After dismantling federal abortion rights in its previous term, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away a case that would consider extending constitutional protections to the unborn.

The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on Tuesday without comment, CNN and CBS News reported.

Advertisement

In Dobbs vs. Jackson, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, the 1970s-era case that offered sweeping access to an abortion. The court this year ruled that abortion rights are not enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, leaving the issue to the states.

The court in the Dobbs decision, however, avoided the question of whether an unborn child is entitled to the same rights that are enjoyed after birth.

The petitioners, pro-life Catholic groups and two pregnant women, wanted to sue to extend constitutional rights to their unborn children, but the state supreme court in Rhode Island ruled in 2019 that they lacked legal grounds to proceed.

The matter was related to the state's Reproductive Privacy Act which became law in Rhode Island in 2019 and extended abortion rights to women as established in Roe.

Advertisement

In their argument, the petitioners said that the state court's decision rested on Roe, which "evaporated" with the Supreme Court's decision on Dobbs.

"This court, at least, should vacate and remand this case back to the Rhode Island courts for reargument and rehearing, with instructions from this court, in light of Dobbs," they wrote.

Latest Headlines