In 2 hours of oral arguments before the Supreme Court and questions by the justices the divisions amongst the justices and their leanings became very obvious. The Mississippi case before the court at issue [Dobbs v. Jackson] is where a 2018 law would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, well before viability [the current national holding].
The Supreme Court has never allowed states to ban abortion on the merits before the point at roughly 24 weeks when a fetus can survive outside the womb. [A Texas case, limited to state of Texas with an earlier ban on abortion of six weeks in a 5-4 vote in September, on procedural grounds, allowed the Texas law to stand temporarily, was heard on the merits this November 1, 2021; the court has yet to issue a ruling on that case.]
In 1992, the court, asked to reconsider Roe, ditched the trimester approach but kept the viability standard, though it shortened it from about 28 weeks to about 24 weeks. It said the new standard should be on whether a regulation puts an "undue burden" on a woman seeking an abortion. That phrase has been litigated over ever since.
Based on the justices questioning in the Dobbs case, all six conservative justices appeared in favor of upholding the Mississippi law and at least 5 also appeared to go so far as to overrule Roe and Casey. [Kavanagh had assured Susan Collins that Roe was law of the land and that he would not overturn Roe, he seems to have been having second thoughts now.]
Both parties before the court, when questioned seems to tell the Supreme Court there’s no middle ground. The justices can either reaffirm the constitutional right to an abortion or wipe it away altogether. [Leaving it to the states to do so as they please.]
After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death last year and her replacement by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the third of Trump’s appointees, the court said it would take up the case.
Trump had pledged to appoint “pro-life justices” and predicted they would lead the way in overturning the abortion rulings. Only one justice, Clarence Thomas, has publicly called for Roe to be overruled.
A ruling that overturned Roe and the 1992 case of Casey would lead to outright bans or severe restrictions on abortion in 26 states, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
Is the court likely to curtail women's right or choices?
Edited: Typo Stare Decisis
General Electric Co on Friday said it has suspended COVID-19 vaccine or test requirement for employees after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling.
Background
Redistricting happens every 10 years after the release of the Census data. Here's an article from the Washington Post called "Redistricting, Explained" (from 2011) that gives a good overview of the redistricting process. Note: the Washington Post is behind a metered paywall (they you a few free articles a month, so take that into consideration before clicking).
Here's a non-paywalled article from the Associated Press about how the redistricting process has gone this year. The Virginia Supreme Court approved the maps unanimously.
The Virginia Public Access Project has released a set of tools and visualizations to make it easier to learn about the new districts you are now living in, and what impact that will have on who represents you.
The final maps plus analysis for:
Bonus links:
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Here's the page that has contains links to the three draft plans that were proposed: https://www.vpap.org/redistricting/plans/
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Here's a Twitter thread from VPAP explaining more about how to use the tools on the site. Thread [minus images and links] copied below:
>VPAP has posted exclusive analysis of statewide maps of proposed state House and Senate districts, which consultants will present to #Redistricting Commission on Monday. [Link] Follow this thread for detailed explanation of the tools found on our site. -->
>For each plan, there is a statewide map with blue/red shading for the partisan lean of the proposed districts. Purple are more competitive, based on 2016 presidential results. [Link] You can click into a district -->
>The district page shows an interactive map, which are pretty easy to navigate (have not tried on mobile). You can zoom in and explore. [Link] Below the map, you can find charts on population and demographics -->
>Charts include a breakdown of population of the district by locality
>Finally, there
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