SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v. Wade affects employee benefits plan

The U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization will have a significant impact on abortion procedures offered under employee benefits plans.

Background

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court reversed its holding in Roe v. Wade, which had found a constitutional right to obtain an abortion. In Dobbs, the Court held the U.S. Constitution doesn’t confer a right to abortion. Instead, the issue is one for the states to decide.

This decision arose from a challenge by Jackson Women’s Health Organization and one of its doctors to Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act, which in essence prohibited any individual from performing or inducing an abortion at any point after the 15th week of pregnancy, except in the case of a medical emergency or severe fetal abnormalities.

The Mississippi law, as written, directly contradicted the Court’s prior precedents in Roe v. Wade, which established the constitutional right to an abortion, and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. Casey, which reaffirmed that right. In both cases, the Court prohibited the states from restricting a woman’s access to abortion during the first trimester.

Court’s opinion

At the outset, Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the Court, stated, “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.” In making that determination, the Court recognized the right to an abortion isn’t expressly stated in the U.S. Constitution, nor any of its amendments.