On Tuesday, The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear arguments on whether fetuses are entitled to constitutional rights.

The appeal was first argued by Catholics for Life after a lower court’s ruling held that fetuses lacked the proper legal standing to a 2019 Rhode Island law codifying the right to abortion in line with Roe v Wade precedent.

The ruling by the Rhode Island Supreme Court used language from Roe V. Wade in saying the 14th Amendment did not extend rights to fetuses.

In declining to hear this case, the Supreme Court made clear that it would steer clear from the issue of abortion after it ruled to overturn the 1973 ruling Roe v. Wade in June.

Justice Samuel Alito, in his majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, made clear that the overturning of Roe v Wade that the Court took no position on “if and when prenatal life is entitled to any of the rights enjoyed after birth.”

Why this matters

• U.S. Supreme Court, for the most part, can pick and choose which cases to hear

• There are around 7,000 cases that is asked to review each year

• Court only agrees to hear 100-150 cases of those 7,000 petitions

• Four of the Nine Justices need to agree to hear a case for there to be an oral argument in High Court

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Information taken from U.S. Supreme Court website. Additional info from Reuters.

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