Listen to this article

The decision of US Supreme Court to take up a blockbuster bid by Mississippi to save its 15-week abortion ban has thrust the politically charged issue into the midterm elections fight. Both sides of the debate over abortion access hoping the case and forthcoming decision will drive their respective voters to the polls in 2022. On Monday, the justices agreed to hear the case involving Mississippi’s law prohibiting abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Point to be noted that the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision established a woman’s right to an abortion. But, a ruling upholding the ban could give Republican-led states the green light to impose more restrictions on the procedure and weaken Roe v Wade. The court decision with 6-3 conservative majority would provide a chance to Democrats amplifying the daylight between Republicans regarding their views on abortion.

They believe it will be a boon to Democratic candidates given the support from Americans for leaving Roe intact. The Supreme Court’s next term begins in October and it was already shaping up to be a significant one. Because, the justices set to hear a Second Amendment case on carrying concealed handguns outside the home and another over the fate of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Other legal battles over affirmative action and voting restrictions are on the horizon. But, this week’s decision to hear Mississippi’s abortion case only further puts the Supreme Court on the frontlines of the mid-terms battle. However, decisions from the high court will come by the summer of 2022. The outcome of the midterm elections will be crucial to President Biden as he works to implement his agenda.

The US Supreme Court has in some form been at the center of the last three election cycles. The first one was the battle over filling the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016, with the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020, and confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett days before the November 3 election. However, the last 3 elections focused on Supreme Court vacancies and the ramifications of the court’s ideological makeup. The 2022 cycle will center at least in part around an issue that is of singular importance to some voters. Both sides of the debate see it as being a potentially winning issue for their candidates. Experts believe that women voters will especially hold accountable elected officials who seek to restrict abortion rights.