Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis and Kristi Noem have joined a growing number of conservatives who believe it is time for the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade.
Last week, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court requesting that they consider overturning the 1973 Supreme Court case.
In her case, she argued that Roe and other rulings are "egregiously wrong" and that they hold up a right that has no basis in the US Constitution. Now other conservative politicians are joining her in the push. Fitch is currently challenging the Court on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which involves a ban on abortions after 15 weeks.
Former Vice President Mike Pence's advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, filed a brief supporting Mississippi's ban. "Societal developments since Roe and Casey were decided indicate that this court's disregard for the value of human life," writes AAF, "and its minimization of society's fundamental interest in protecting unborn children, have substantially harmed people's 'views of themselves and their places in society,"
Pence launched Advancing American Freedom in April 2021. This brief will be the first significant policy action that the group has made. They are not alone in their filing. Other conservative organizations have filed similar briefs, including the Family Research Council and the Minnesota Family Council. The court will consider these briefs as "friend-of-the-court" briefs in hopes of influencing the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court.
A coalition of other politicians has filed similar briefs. A coalition of eleven Republican governors has filed a joint brief on Thursday encouraging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe V. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The governors argue that the Supreme Court ruling overextends federal power and should leave decisions involving abortion to the state legislature. Other signers of the brief include governors from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma and Texas.
Senators Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee have filed similar briefs, as has a coalition of 230 members of Congress.
