WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered lower courts to vacate rulings blocking a handful of state pro-life laws from taking effect, in light of its landmark ruling last week overturning Roe v. Wade.
Last week, the Court ruled 5-4 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that it was “time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” By invalidating the 1973 precedent that forced all 50 states to allow most abortions, the ruling triggered the activation or restoration of laws in more than 20 states effectively outlawing abortion.
It has also led to the restoration of milder laws regulating various aspects of abortion. Reuters reports that the nation’s highest court has thrown out rulings against Arizona and Arkansas laws that ban abortions sought on the basis of a fetal Down syndrome diagnosis, as well as an Indiana law strengthening parental notification rules for minors’ abortions.
“This is a massive victory for the unborn diagnosed with Down syndrome,” said David Lejeune, president of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, which filed an amicus brief in support of the Arkansas law alongside Alliance Defending Freedom. “This means that the court decision that struck down Arkansas’ pro-life law will have to be reviewed again in accordance with the new precedent set by Dobbs. And considering Dobbs overruled both Roe and Casey, in all likelihood, the challenge to Arkansas’ pro-life law will be dismissed – which would be a great victory for life!”
READ: Planned Parenthood is discontinuing all abortions in Tennessee
It is a common practice around the world to abort preborn children specifically because of a Down syndrome diagnosis; the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute estimates that abortion reduces the Down community in the United States by 30% — despite research finding that 99% of people with Down syndrome described themselves as “happy,” and only 4% of parents of Down children expressed regret about having them.
The ruling comes at the close of a Supreme Court session delivering several momentous conservative victories, which also include an affirmation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms and severe curtailment of the federal executive branch’s authority to regulate carbon emissions.
Leftists have responded with anger, violence, and calls to defy or limit the Supreme Court.