Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird Among Hundreds Of Women Athletes Calling On Supreme Court To Reject Mississippi Abortion Law - Forbes

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Topline

More than 500 women athletes, coaches and associations called on the Supreme Court on Monday to strike down a Mississippi law that would ban all abortions after 15 weeks except in cases of medical emergencies or a “severe fetal abnormality,” as the upcoming ruling could set a precedent for abortions rights in the U.S. and decide whether Roe v. Wade will be weakened or overturned.

Key Facts

The amicus brief was filed as part of the Dobbs v. Jackson’s Women’s Health case and was signed by 26 Olympians, 73 professional athletes, and 276 intercollegiate athletes.

Athletes listed in the brief include Olympic gold medalist and soccer star Megan Rapinoe, Olympic medalist and water polo star Ashleigh Johnson, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) veterans Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, and unions Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) and the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSL).

The brief argues that athletes need to have autonomy over their bodies and reproductive rights to participate and compete in high school, collegiate and professional sports, and additional abortion restrictions will hinder “women’s ability to participate and excel in athletics” and "undermine athletes' fundamental rights."

The brief also argues that athletes have a “narrow window of time” to achieve their “greatest” athletic potential, and if women have to carry out their pregnancies to term, it could “derail” plans for athletic careers and academic futures.

Olympic gold medal swimmer Crissy Perham said in the brief, that she accidentally became pregnant in college and decided to have an abortion to “take control of her future” and continue participating in sports.

Perham said she was invited to the Olympics a year after the abortion and wouldn’t have been an Olympian if she didn’t make that choice, saying, it “led me to being an Olympian, a college graduate, and a proud mother today.”

Crucial Quote

“As women athletes and people in sports, we must have the power to make important decisions about our own bodies and exert control over our reproductive lives,” Rapinoe said. “Physically, we push ourselves to the absolute limit, so to have forces within this country trying to deny us control over our own bodies is infuriating and un-American and will be met with fierce resistance.”

Key Background

The Supreme Court said it will hear arguments on Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban on December 1. The law was first passed in 2018, but was struck down by lower courts. Federal District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi Carlton Reeves said the state “chose to pass a law it knew was unconstitutional to enforce” in efforts to “overturn Roe v. Wade." Mississippi's attorney general asked the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in July claiming that the ruling was “egregiously wrong,” and adding that adding a right to abortion has "no basis in text, structure, history, or tradition." So far, 12 GOP governors have asked the Supreme Court to rule in Mississippi’s favor in order to pass similar restrictions, while nearly 900 state lawmakers from 45 states have asked the court to rule against Mississippi and uphold Roe v. Wade.

Chief Critic

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves told CNN in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the arguments that, “the science has changed and therefore it makes sense for the court to review their decisions from the past and this is a vehicle in which for them to do it."