On what grounds did the Court uphold the ban?
For the first time in more than 30 years, the Court turned its back on the bedrock principle that abortion restrictions cannot endanger women’s health. Instead, the Court ruled that the “State’s interest in promoting respect for human life at all stages of pregnancy” could outweigh a woman’s interest in protecting her own health. Furthermore, the Court held that in the face of “medical uncertainty” lawmakers could overrule a doctor’s medical judgment. In other words, the Court sanctioned placing medical decisions in the hands of politicians, not doctors.
