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Report: SCOTUS will overturn Roe v. Wade in Mississippi abortion case

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Report: U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade in Mississippi abortion case

The U.S. Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, likely ending the right to abortion in the United States and all but ensuring that the procedure becomes illegal in Mississippi and many other states, Politico reported Monday night.

Politico obtained a draft majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito and labeled “Opinion of the Court,” in which the justices sided with the state of Mississippi in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Alito writes in the draft document, referring to the 1992 case that mostly upheld the right to abortion. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

In a statement, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, which argued the state’s position before the Supreme Court, said the Politico report and the opinion to which it linked could not be verified.

“We will let the Supreme Court speak for itself and wait for the Court’s official opinion,” Attorney General Lynn Fitch said.

The Court’s opinion on the case was widely expected to come in June. The document obtained by Politico is a draft that could change before the Court’s final ruling. The leak of the document is the first time in modern history that a Court opinion has become public before it issues its ruling, Politico reported. 

If ultimately adopted by the Court, the ruling would overturn a 49-year-old precedent, arguing that the 7-2 decision in 1973 was “egregiously wrong from the start.”

Mississippi is one of several states with “trigger laws” that will automatically ban abortion, with few exceptions, if the Court overturns Roe.

The Washington, D.C.-based news organization reported that during an initial vote on the case after oral arguments in December, Alito was joined by conservative justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas. The alignment could change before the opinion is finalized, and justices often make multiple rounds of revisions before releasing a ruling. 

Politico reported that the three Democratic-appointed justices, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, are working on one or more draft dissent opinions. 

The publication reported that the position of Chief Justice John Roberts, who has shown more reticence than his fellow Republican appointees to overturn past rulings on abortion, is unclear.

The case stems from a 2018 Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the law, finding that it ran afoul of the right to an abortion before fetal viability. Mississippi appealed that decision, and the Supreme Court announced it would hear the case in May 2021.

During oral arguments in December, Mississippians on both sides of the issue rallied in Jackson. 

At downtown Jackson’s Smith Park, the “Abortion Freedom Fighters” rally drew about 100 people.

“Mississippi has always been counted out, but today we showed not just the Supreme Court but the governor — we’ve shown people that we are not going to let y’all make decisions on our bodies,” said Valencia Robinson, CEO and founder of Mississippi in Action. “Women, pregnant people, nobody. Because if you’re taking one right away, you’re going to start trying to take other rights away.”

Outside the abortion clinic at the center of the Supreme Court case – the only such clinic in the state – the “Pink House defenders” were guarding the parking lot as they do every day. About 40 anti-abortion protesters prayed, their mouths covered in red tape printed with the word “Life.”

“God almighty visited you and gave you a baby. Will you save it today? Will you love it?” said Coleman Boyd, a regular protester at the clinic. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi News

Girls, parents and gym owner reported concerns about gymnastics coach years before sex abuse case

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www.wjtv.com – Ryan J. Foley – 2025-08-29 09:49:00

SUMMARY: Sean Gardner, a gymnastics coach, faced multiple abuse allegations from gymnasts and parents dating back to 2018, yet he continued coaching and was even promoted at Chow’s Gymnastics, owned by renowned coach Liang “Chow” Qiao. Despite reports of inappropriate touching and grooming behavior, USA Gymnastics and SafeSport failed to act decisively. Gardner was banned in 2022 after a sexual abuse complaint but was arrested only in 2025 following FBI investigation revealing he installed hidden cameras to exploit young gymnasts. The case highlights systemic failures by gymnastics authorities, law enforcement, and the gym in protecting athletes from abuse.

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Leaders, family mark 70th anniversary of Emmett Till’s murder

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2025-08-28 09:09:00

SUMMARY: In honor of Emmett Till and the 70th anniversary of his 1955 lynching in Mississippi, leaders and family will hold a news conference at the Mississippi State Capitol on August 28, 2025. Till, a 14-year-old Black Chicago teen, was brutally murdered after being falsely accused of whistling at a white woman. His killers were acquitted by an all-white jury but later confessed. His death galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. Recently, thousands of previously unreleased federal records detailing the investigation were made public. President Biden signed legislation making lynching a federal hate crime and established a national monument honoring Till and his mother.

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia surrenders to ICE in Baltimore, again faces possible deportation

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www.wjtv.com – BRIAN WITTE and BEN FINLEY Associated Press – 2025-08-25 07:22:00

SUMMARY: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national detained by U.S. immigration authorities in Baltimore, faces potential immediate deportation under the Trump administration. A Maryland federal court order pauses deportations for immigrants challenging detention, including Abrego Garcia. Previously wrongfully deported to El Salvador despite fearing violence, he was returned to the U.S. and charged with human smuggling, which he denies, calling the prosecution vindictive. The administration alleges gang ties, which he rejects. Abrego Garcia faces deportation to Uganda, a new U.S. deportation partner, despite his family and life in Maryland. His attorneys seek to block deportation pending legal review and due process.

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