and a decision holding that pre-viability bans are permissible going forward would, of course, encompass these texas cases, as well. >> so what do you think this means in the state of texas? >> reporter: well, what will happen in texas is that this law continues to -- will be adjoined as to its operation right now. and that sort of pulls it in advance, as this challenge goes forward. but again, there's already considerable confusion on the ground in texas. some providers have already stopped providing abortion services and they may not be able to come back online. so i think that this law accomplished its purpose, which was to arrest the exercise of this constitutional right for some period of time in texas. and it certainly did that for two months. >> and i'm just wondering, if this -- and i know you just talked a little bit about it. it really can tell us very little about how the supreme court may be thinking in total on the mississippi case. >> well, i love the use of all of the latin here. i think we did get a sense of where the court is going in that mississippi case. i think the r

to be proposing kind of a middle ground, he would allow states to bar abortions earlier, move that viability line back, but he would try to find a way to still keep some remnants of the right to abortion. that would be a more incremental move and the big question would be are other justices ready to sign on to that. all eyes were on justice brett kavanaugh, he could be key, maybe he would be interested in it. but in court, he really seems to push on the fact that how this issue really belongs to the states and if he goes that way, he would be a vote to overturn roe, to get it away from the supreme court down the line. listen to what he had to say. >> when you have those two interests at stake and both are important, as you acknowledge, why not -- why should this court be the arbiter rather than congress, the state legislatures, state supreme courts, the people being able to resolve this, and there will be different answers in mississippi and new york, different answers in alabama than california. because there are two different interests at stake, and the people in those states might value t

from the point before viability to the point after viability. >> emily. >> well, i think it is pretty clear that alito and justice gorsuch and thomas are ready to overturn roe. the votes in play are from chief justice roberts and maybe kavanaugh or barrett. i thought kavanaugh invoking a great hit list of overruling of precedent and how important that has been under scored his feeling you could add roe to the list and it deserved to be overturned. the same way as plessy vs. ferguson that upheld the principle of separate but equal. if you think of roe in those terms, why would you keep it. justice barrett's questions about adoption suggested as she said was separating the burdens of parenthood on women from the burdens of being pregnant. and that is not how our constitutional law on abortion has worked in the 50 years since roe, but it was interesting that is how she seemed to see it. >> does it matter some of the justices are flatly contradicting all of their precedent claims under oath to the senate? >> i mean it can matter to you and the public but it does not matter in terms of wha

and that states can only ban abortions after the point of viability. that's when a fetus can survive outside of the womb. the court said in 1992 that point is between 23 and 24 weeks. but the mississippi law bans abortions much earlier, after 15 weeks, with exceptions only for medical emergencies or severe fetal abnormalities. and now the state solicitor general will argue before the supreme court that there is nothing in the constitution that even supports a woman's right to have an abortion. if the court won't go that far, the state wants the justices to erase the viability line and uphold its 15-week ban. >> i believe very strongly that if you read the constitution there is nowhere in the constitution that prohibits individual states, states like mississippi, to limit access to abortions and so i think roe was wrongly decided. >> reporter: the case will be heard exactly three months after texas successfully banned most abortions after just six weeks. that law has sparked protest nati nationwide. so far abortion clinics and the justice department hav

and that doesn't change, does it, from the point before viability to the point after viability? >> during arguments justice kavanaugh took the position that abortion want remanded to the states. it is considered an extreme restriction on the rights of women across the country. >> i think the other side would say that the core problem here is that the court has been forced by the position you are taking and by the cases to pick sides on the most contentious social debate in american life. and to do so in a situation where they say that the constitution is neutral on the question of abortion, the text and history, that the constitution is neither pro life nor pro choice on the question of abortion. and they would say, therefore, it should be left to the people, to the states, or to congress. >> if the court chooses what is being called kavanaugh's so-called middle ground, 26 states are likely ban abortion. chief justice roberts seemed the narrow the scope of any discussion by arguing that the issue of 15 weeks was the only thing before the court. >> the thing that is at issue befo

john roberts zeroing in on a key issue, viability. roe and other cases prohibit states from banning abortion before viability about 24 weeks. robert's saying mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks gives women plenty of time to choose. >> liability doesn't have anything to do with choice. if it really is an issue about choice, why is 15 weeks not enough time? >> justice soto sonja my art with of dire consequences if the rule is overturned or gutted. >> will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? >> a decision in this case expected at the end of the courts term next june. when most of the big decisions come down. you can hear conservatives aiming high. they were discussing not so much whether to overrule or got roe v. wade, but how to do it. terry moran, abc news. >> carlos santana reportedly doing well after having an unscheduled heart procedure. the 74-year-old guitarist says his wife took him to the hospital because of an issu

john roberts zeroing in on a key issue, viability. roe and other cases prohibit states from banning abortion before viability about 24 weeks. robert's saying mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks gives women plenty of time to choose. >> liability doesn't have anything to do with choice. if it really is an issue about choice, why is 15 weeks not enough time? >> justice soto sonja my art with of dire consequences if the rule is overturned or gutted. >> will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? >> a decision in this case expected at the end of the courts term next june. when most of the big decisions come down. you can hear conservatives aiming high. they were discussing not so much whether to overrule or got roe v. wade, but how to do it. terry moran, abc news. >> carlos santana reportedly doing well after having an unscheduled heart procedure. the 74-year-old guitarist says his wife took him to the hospital because of an issu

viability is dependent on medical technology and medical practice. it has changed and it may continue to change. >> john: should the issue of viability even be in there since it is a moving target question marks because it's a great question. this is talking about 15 weeks which is prior to viability. 15 weeks, the community of the unborn child is obvious. the baby at that point has lips. it has eyes. it can suck its thumb. it is beautiful. it feels fetal pain at that point. but we talk about here is the humanity of the unborn child whether it's at viability or not, we will see. >> john: what do you think ultimately the supreme court will do here? will rule on mississippi or credit include casey and wade as well? >> it's impossible to rule on this without roe vs. wade as well. >> john: an important case for the supreme court. with hear about in few months. good to be with you, thank you. danger, it has been a whirlwind of a day today. >> sandra: and the michigan school shooter, it was also just announced that he will be charged as an adult in that ca

, around 24 line at viability, around 24 weeks. mississippi's only abortion clinic, now at the center of the fight, performs abortions up to 16 weeks. >> that's the question is where does the line get drawn? it's just-- it's them chipping away. >> reporter: a lawyer for mississippi said the justices shouldn't be drawing the lines, that the issue should be up to the states, which struck a chord with justice brett kavanaugh. >> why should this court be the arbiter rather than congress, the state legislatures, state supreme courts, the people being able to resolve this? >> reporter: now, back in 1992, the court seemed then to be almost certain to overturn "roe v. wade," but former justice anthony kennedy changed his mind and provided that key vote to save it. so that's an important reminder that no matter how things may look today, a lot can change between now and june when we expect this decision. margaret. >> brennan: and jan crawford will be covering it all. thank you. the supreme court's ruling in the mississippi case could impact

the line of viability, when a fetus can survive outside the womb, that was at the crux of the roe v. wade decision is squarely in the crosshairs today during oral arguments. in 1992, the justices said we encourage everyone to accept this as the settled law of the land. and public sentiment and the outcry on both sides of the debate have told us that the abortion right itself is far from settled. ros: the supreme court is weighing three possible outcomes. the first would be the court overturns roe v. wade. the second would be it rules that the mississippi law doesn't place an undue burden on women seeking an abortion. this would leave roe v. wade standing in principle, but would undermine it in practice. the third is that it could strike down the mississippi law, allowing roe v. wade to stand as it is. that would seem unlikely, but remains a possibility. when we are considering these possible outcomes, we need to consider the makeup of the supreme court. the conservatives have what we could call a super majority, 6-3. here's more on that issue. >> based on the discussions and question

wade is 24 weeks or at viability. and we know that that is an honest and effective definition, but also it is an effective line to draw. and you're right, six weeks -- no one is able to discern whether they're pregnant or not. and that means the victim of incest, a 13-year-old girl, or the victim of rape -- what's happening now is those who have means, who are able economically can flee. mostly to oklahoma. can you believe it? that is not a liberal state. they're fleeing to oklahoma. but the actual crisis takes me back to the bountyhunters of slaves who were attempting to free themselves out of the bondage of slavery. we have now put 21st century women, texas women, college students, poor women, rape victims, incest victims, and we have made them the victims of bounty hunters. senator klobuchar and i have introduced the anti-vigilante bill that we want to push through right now. we want the supreme court to throw both bills -- excuse me, both laws out, but our vigilante bill makes those bounty hunters that would get $

this is a, this is national viability, national sovereignty, national dignity, national rights. but they are, countries are clearly most of them leadership, some of the people, necessarily, the leaderships are really quite flustered. they don't know what's going on with the realignments in the region. i'm smashing around, trying to find any relationships that will will protect them, but they turn to iran, the turn to turkey, the turn to china, russia getting more in all these fascinating symes, especially they are on turkey relationships because iran and turkey, you know, at several points in history rule, the middle east, these are huge powers that, that shape them define much of what happens and middle, eastern our and other cultures. today, you can just sideline these people are sanction them or threaten them or ignore them. as the western countries are generally trying to do, and i think we're, we're still at a point of broad immaturity and political leadership. and our country's a kind of an amateur rhythm sovereignty has worked very well, say to it hasn't worked very well.

when you lose that viability, people don't have the confidence to get married and they don't have confidence to have children and they don't have the confidence to buy a home and when you look at the statistics on people get married 50 years ago, 26, now it's about 29 and when do they have their first child, about 33 and when do they have a home in their late 30s. we are to 62% and now it's down to about 59 and of those are the things that make people reinforce conservatism when i read the book, i was struck by the numbers that are included. half of all renters have a network of under $6,000 nearly half of all female-headed families have less than $2,000 net worth so people are struggling. they have the property and the land. >> i don't want to sound like a marxist but i work on the campus with the schizophrenic relationships between, i don't like palo alto but i don't want to pick on it and then i live in the sort of ground zero, but we have a hispanic middle-class in fresno county but what is so strange is i will hear professors and people say it's good that we have gas going up to five do

to the point after viability? >> this is important for you to understand. the supreme court has never agreed to hear a case over an abortion ban so early in pregnancy until all three trump appointees, justices neil gorsuch who sits in the seat stolen by republicans after the death of ruth baiter ginsburg, brett catch and amy coney barrett. at one point quoting directly from the casey decision justice breyer seemed to be speaking directly to his colleagues. >> will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? >> to overrule under fire in the absence of the most compelling reason to reexamine a watershed decision would subvert the court's legitimacy beyond any serious question. >> just breyer started with stare decisis, an important principle in any case the prevent people from thinking that this court is political institution. >> far more disturbing and frankly offensive was the mississippi slitter general arguing that

to the point after viability. >> reporter: u.s. solicitor attorne attorne attorne attorney general elizabeth prelogger ruled -- >> nearly half of the states already have or are expected to enact terms on abortion on all stages of pregnancy, many without exceptions for rape or incest. >> reporter: the court's 6-3 conservative jury seemed poised to uphold the mississippi law but it's unclear whether there was majority to end the federal right to abortion. the keynote justice kavanaugh appeared skeptical that pregnancies and fetuses can both be contact dated. >> the reason this is hard is that you can't accommodate both interests. you have to pick. that's the fundamental problem. >> reporter: we don't expect an opinion in this case until june or even early july when major rulings are released. the justices also recently heard arguments on a texas abortion law that prohibits most abortions on that state. don't have a decision on that case either, so we may have to wait until early summer for any answers on this critical issue. paula re

viability, the point at which a fetus could out the boom is the other key issue today. and whether it should remain the benchmark for eliminating state's ability to restrict abortions. prompting chief justice roberts to ask -- >> viability seems to me doesn't have anything to do with choice. but if it really is an issue about choice, why is 15 weeks not enough time? >> shannon: and mississippi solicitor general argued that science and technology have advanced significantly since roe, including findings on fetal pain, justice sotomayor criticized the idea that pain can be experienced before viability is held by a fringe minority at foul not founded in science. also brought up the issue of safe haven laws that now exist in all 50 states in nearly every case they allow a woman to surrender a child after birth no questions asked. so justus asked about whether the answer's argument against forcing a woman to bear a child that she says she cannot or does not want to care for. the decision expects by legion. so let's bring in utah senator in her mike lee. and what he thinks th

to the point after viability? >> reporter: u.s. solicitor general elizabeth prelogger, who argued the case on behalf of the federal government warned about the dire consequences of overturning roe. >> nearly half of the states already have or are expected to enact bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, many without exceptions for rape or incest. women who are unable to travel hundreds of miles to gain access to legal abortion will be required to continue with their pregnancies and give birth with profound affects on their bodies, their health and the course of their lives. >> reporter: the court's 6-3 conservative majority appeared poised to uphold the mississippi law, but it was less clear if there was a majority to end the federal right to abortion. a key vote, justice cavanaugh appeared skeptical that the interests of pregnant women and justices can be accommodated. >> the reason this is hard is you can't accommodate both interests. you have to pick. that's the fundamental problem. >> reporter: we don't e

well, viability second base as good a point as any. 15 weeks seems arbitrary more than viability, but if 15 weeks is good enough, why not six weeks. i think that the way that comes out could open the door for more and more restrictive laws on the books. >> and pete, what is the timeline on the state path? i mean, obviously at some point it will end up in the texas supreme court. >> right the lawsuits are underway now. the judge that yesterday declared the law unconstitutional decided, though, not to enforce a ban on it. so the law is still underway, still being enforced. that ruling applied only to the specific parties in his case, but there are other lawsuits that are also working their way through the pipeline. so it does seem to be moving fairly quickly in texas. >> it sure does. pete williams, barbara, thank you both for helping us untangle some of these legal maneuvers. here's a live look at the world war ii memorial where we expect a service honoring bob dole to begin shortly. this memorial is there because of him. we'll bring you that service as soon as it starts. >>> we're als

that's not a dramatic departure from viability. why is 15 weeks not enough time? >> so some have viewed this as the, quote, moderate roberts floating a compromise here. but even if this is the best case scenario, how will a 15-week cut off impact people trying to seek an abortion? >> i mean, as was said in the argument it has all kinds of impacts because the decision about a pregnancy is such a personal one. it's one that a woman has to be able to make with her doctor, her medical provider. justice roberts has never been pregnant. i don't think he can -- i don't think he has any way of knowing the complexity of these issues that women face. and that's why it's importantthality women make their decisions about pregnancy not government. it was really sort of an extraordinary moment. and i would also point out as has been said by others, there was no rationale for that. and in fact, there was really no rationale for anyone -- as justice sotomayor said, nothing has changed in 50 years since roe was decided. women still need access to safe and legal abortion. women nee

so the integrity, the viability of these countries as, as rivals, it's not collapse let it's rattling and it's in some countries i think we're going to see this go on for some time. matthew, one of the defining moment in this part of the world was the spring in 2011. the americans were baffled at the beginning than this. so the port unity for political transition and they said we have to embrace it. then under the trump administration, the turned back on the aspirations of the people. now you don't get any indications of the americans are willing to take an aggressive war when it comes to we will fool with a political transitions. is this something that was likely to perpetuate auto attachment rules in this part of the world? certainly, then the pattern of us foreign policy decades to favor or put stability over democratic more earlier real you can have little stability in countries. if people don't feel that there's justice and democratic changes, part of that when we're working together there was a very strong push to enable countries of the middle east and the people of the middle

this is, this is national viability, national sovereignty, national dignity and national rights. but they are, countries are clearly, most of them, the leadership, not the people necessarily. the leaderships are really quite flustered. they don't know what's going on with the realignments. and the reason i'm there smashing around, trying to find any relationships that will will protect them. but they turn to iran, the turn to turkey, the turn to china, russia getting more into all these fascinating symes, especially they are on turkey relationships because iran and turkey, you know, at several points in history, rule the middle east, they are huge powers that, that shape and define much of what happens and middle eastern our other cultures. today, you can just sideline these people are sanction them or threaten them or ignore them as the western countries are generally trying to do. and i think we're, we're still at a point of broad maturity of political leadership and our country's kind of amateur ism, the sovereignty has worked very well. say to it hasn't worked very well. citi

you heard these references to fetal viability which was at the center of roe v. wade and kc. what the chief was suggesting and he's probably the only one on the bench who thinks this, that you can actually lift that viability line, but not overrule roe. he was suggesting that the 15-week cut-off could be constitutional, which is what mississippi has. but that he wouldn't roll back some right to abortion. but what i believe, jake is that he's going to have to get -- he would get the three liberals to agree at least that they wouldn't discard roe wholesale, but he is going to have to pick up someone from the conservative side and that's where it's going to be very tricky. someone who will say now is not the time to completely eviscerate roe v. wade. >> carrie, what happens immediately if they just decide to overturn roe v. wade, which, it's possible, honestly. if you listen to the arguments. it's quite possible. i don't think it's necessarily the probable decision but it could happen. first in mississippi and then in other states, what happens? >> so the impact of this case wil

wade inhibits abortions before viability. mississippi's ban gives women plenty of time to choose. >> viability does not have anything to do with choice, but if it really is an issue about choice, why is 15 weeks not enough time? reporter: justice sotomayor with the two other liberals warned of dire consequences if roe is overturned. >> will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? reporter: a decision is expected at the end of the term next june, when most of the big decisions come down and you can hear the concern is aiming high. they were discussing not so much whether to overrule roe v. wade, but how to do it. terri miranda, abc news, the supreme court. reggie: two parents agreed to plead guilty and were on the varsity blues college admissions scandal. the justice department says dr. colburn and his wife will admit to paying $25,000 to facilitate cheating on their son's sat exam. each has agreed to send it as of eight weeks

to the point after viability? >> reporter: u.s. solicitor general elizabeth prelogar, who argued the case on behalf of the federal government warned about the dire consequences of overturning roe. >> nearly half of the states already have or are expected to enact bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, many without exceptions for rape or incest. women who are unable to travel hundreds of miles to gain access to legal abortion will be required to continue with their pregnancies and give birth with profound effects on their bodies, their health and the course of their lives. >> reporter: the court's 6-3 conservative majority appeared poised to uphold the mississippi law, but it was less clear if there was a majority to end the federal right to abortion. a key vote, justice cavanaugh appeared skeptical that the interests of pregnant women and fetuses can both be accommodated. >> the reason this is hard is you can't accommodate both interests. you have to pick. that's the fundamental problem. >> reporter: we don'

it violates previous supreme court rulings that say, states may not ban abortion before viability. that's usually between 22 and 24 weeks. the supreme court's also yet to rule on a texas abortion law that came into effect in september. it bands most termination after 6 weeks pro abortion groups say the laws in both republican states go against woman's rights to terminate a pregnancy guaranteed enroll versus weight, and allowing the laws to stand could lead to abortion protection being overturned hydro castro joining his live now from washington d. c. find a standard correctly how the decision is not expected on this case until i think the middle of 20. 22. why is this hearing so important? rob this is consider the moment of truth for many in the anti abortion camp who have waited nearly 5 decades for this moment. for a case to come before the u. s. supreme court that can directly challenge roe vs wade, which as you said, was that 1973 landmark case that found a right to abortion access for american women in the us constitution. and in that interim, the states have been passing loss

this is a, this is national viability, national sovereignty, national dignity, national rights. but they are, countries are clearly, most of them, the leadership, some of the people, necessarily, the leaderships are really quite flustered. they don't know what's going on with the realignments in the region. i'm smashing around trying to find any relationships that will will protect them, but they turn to iran, the turn to turkey, the turn to china, russia getting more into all these fascinating symes, especially they are on turkey relationships because iran and turkey at several points in history. rule the middle east, they are huge powers that, that shape and define much of what happens and middle eastern, our other cultures. today, you can just sideline these people are sanction of them or threaten them or ignore them. as the western countries are generally trying to do, and i think we're, we're still at a point of broad maturity them political leadership and our country's kind of an amateur rhythm sovereignty hasn't worked very well. say to it hasn't worked very well. citizen

that's not a dramatic departure from viability. why is 15 weeks not enough time? >> so some have viewed this as the, quote, moderate roberts floating a compromise here. but even if this is the best case scenario, how will a 15-week cut off impact people trying to seek an abortion? >> i mean, as was said in the argument it has all kinds of impacts because the decision about a pregnancy is such a personal one. it's one that a woman has to be able to make with her doctor, her medical provider. justice roberts has never been pregnant. i don't think he can -- i don't think he has any way of knowing the complexity of these issues that women face. and that's why it's important that women make their decisions about pregnancy not government. it was really sort of an extraordinary moment. and i would also point out as has been said by others, there was no rationale for that. and in fact, there was really no rationale for anyone -- as justice sotomayor said, nothing has changed in 50 years since roe was decided. women still need access to safe and legal abortion. women need

>> lawyers defending roe argue that fetal viability should remain the standard. >> mississippi's ban on abortion two months before viability is flatly unconstitutional under decades of precedent. >> and liberal justices warn of damage to the court's reputation. my guests this morning, democratic senator amy klobuchar and republican senator mike braun. >>> plus omicron. >> we're going to fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion. >> new travel restrictions amid concerns about transmissibility and how effective vaccines will be. >> because of the number of mutations that are seen, the concern is vaccines won't work as well. >> i'll talk to the director of the national institutes of health, dr. francis collins. >>> also, the parents of the boy accused of killing four high school classmates in michigan are themselves charged with involuntarily manslaughter. >> there was absolute reason to believe this individual was dangerous and disturbed. >> they are now in jail for hiding from authorities after failing to appear in court. the entire family behind bars. >>> joi

. >> reporter: lawyers argue that fetal viability should remain the standard. >> mississippi's ban on abortion two months before viability is flatly unconstitutional under decades of precedent. >> and liberal justices warn of damage to the court's reputation. my guests this morning, democratic senator amy klobuchar and republican senator mike braun. >> plus omicron. >> we're going to fight this variant with science and speed, not chaos and confusion. >> new travel concerns amid concerns about transmissibility and how effective vaccines will be. >> because of the number of mutations that are seen, the concern is vaccines won't work as well. >> i'll talk to the direct to be of the national institutes of health, dr. francis collins. >>> also, the parents of the boy accused of killing four high school classmates in michigan are themselves charged with involuntarily manslaughter. >> there was absolute reason to believe this individual was dangerous and disturbed. >> they are now in jail for hiding from authorities after failing to appear in court. the entire family behind bars. >>> joining

case is thinking about the viability of the fetus. the supreme court has signaled, as you said, in some questioning this week that it may uphold mississippi's 15-week ban on abortion. that's about nine weeks recallier than the broadly accepted 24-week ban on abortion. is there some middle ground that the court might be looking for on this or is this binary? >> well, it was clear both from the solicitor general's argument and the argument by our lawyer in the courtroom as well as granted by the state of mississippi that you can't uphold mississippi's law without overturning roe versus wade. there will be no stopping ground. they'll say 15 weeks in mississippi now. mississippi passed a six-week ban and they'll be back in court and they've made their argumentsal read they the six-week ban should be upheld. as you pointed out, about half the states in the united states are poised to ban abortion entirely. so what has made the protecting the right clear was a very, very clear line that the court set in roe versus wade. we had 30 years ago

it, well basically it's by ability if you can live outside of the way that it's that viability issue. and that was discuss a lot in the work. but when it comes to late term abortions, there's usually exceptions for that. and i am not is well versed on what exactly those exceptions are. but late camera fortunes are more the exception as opposed to the rule when it comes to how the law wide. well, and that's what i think a lot of the conversation is, here is the talk. this is a rule that came a law that came about even a rule that came about based on the supreme court hearing, not necessarily one that's actually run its way up through all 3 branches. it wasn't signed into. i think that's where the discrepancy has been, despite how long ago was roe vs wade. put through 973. okay. so they've had, they've had a few years right now to make a law. and that's a question. i'm a 3rd or panel out of it says if this was so important, why did they not go and have all 3 branches? why is one branch creating a wall? something that we haven't really necessarily seen with other social issues that we've

it, well basically it's by ability if you can live outside of the way that it's that viability issue. and that was discuss a lot in the work. but when it comes to late term abortions, there's usually exceptions for that. and i am not is well versed on what exactly those exceptions are. but late term abortions are more the exception as opposed to the rule when it comes to how the law wide. well, and that's what i think a lot of the conversation is, here is the talk that this is a rule that came a law that came about even a rule that came about based on the supreme court hearing, not necessarily one that's actually run its way up through all 3 branches, it wasn't signed into i think that's where the discrepancy has been, despite how long ago was roe vs wade. put through 973. okay. so they've had, they've had a few years right now to make a law. and that's a question i'm a 3rd or panel out of his if this was so important, why did they not go and have all 3 branches? why is one branch creating a wall? something that we haven't really necessarily seen with other social issues that we've se

they have become skeptical about the political viability of this pipeline . not just its commercial liability. or i think last time with you, raise your group. thank you very much. thank you. and let's go now to some of the other global business stories making headlines. united airlines and delta have cancelled more than $200.00 christmas eve flights. they say the spread of the new omicron variant is taking a toll on flight crews and ground personnel. the airlines are trying to reboot travelers as soon as possible. tick tock has surpassed google as the world's most popular website. that's according to cloud fair tech from the tracks online activities. more than 1000000000 users sign onto scroll, tick, tock, monthly, mostly children and teenagers. tick tock was launched in 2016 by china's bite dance . intel has apologized for angering the chinese government after called on suppliers to avoid goods and services in the sheen john region. the united states, the european union and other countries, have accused china of a brutal crack down on the muslim leader mino

-- i should say 36 cases, have reaffirmed that basic viability. for have said no. two of the members of this court. 15 justices have said yes. they are of varying political backgrounds. now, the house bill in mississippi said we are doing it because we have new justices. the newest bandit mississippi has put in place, the senate sponsor said we are doing it because we have new justices on the supreme court. will this institution survive the stench that this creates? in the public perception that the constitution and its reading are just political acts? i don't see how this is possible. when they talked about watershed decisions, some of them, brown v. board of education, this one, they have such an entrenched set of expectations in our society. this is what the court decided. we won't be able to survive if people believe that everything, including new york versus sullivan, i could name any other set of rights including the second amendment, there are many who believe the court errored in seeing this as a personal right as opposed to a militia righ

. >> reporter: lawyers argue that fetal viability should remain the standard. >> mississippi's ban on abortion two months before viability is flatly unconstitutional under decades of precedent. >> and liberal justices warn of damage to

because the petitioners do not provide post-viability abortions. and under this president that doesn't preclude a statute from being declared unconstitutional, so i don't think that is a concern that the court needs to deal with. but at the end of the day, what the state of texas and one of my friends on the other side is saying is that clinics should just violate the law. they should go out there and go about business as usual and subject themselves to the risk that they would be forced to close their doors. but i want to make clear, your honor, this is not just a decision for clinics to make. even if they decide to violate the law, they may not find physicians, nurses and ultrasound technicians, staff members willing to work behind the desk because this targets all of them. every single person would have to make the decision am i willing to subject myself to the risk of $10,000 or more, the minimum liability per abortion, plus the risk that i'm going to be held in the suits all across the state, and i'm going to have my ability to have an attorne

tough questions about viability and constitutional rights. what will the court's conservative majority do? trey gowdy coming up. >> bill: chris cuomo addressing his suspension from cnn. will the suspension be permanent? >> dana: more turnover for the vice president. set to lose another aide. reince priebus is here to weigh in. ♪♪ helping them discover their dreams is one of the best parts of being a parent. one of the most important is giving them ways to fulfill them. for over 150 years, generations have trusted the strength and stability of pacific life. because life insurance can help protect and provide for the financial futures of the ones we love. talk to a financial professional about pacific life. your kindness outshines your highs and lows. your strength can outlast any bad day. because you are greater than your bipolar i, and you can help take control of your symptoms - and ask about vraylar. some medicines only treat the lows or highs, once-daily vraylar is proven to treat depressive, acute manic, and mixed episodes of bipolar

have -- or i should say 30 since casey, have reaffirmed that basic viability line. four have said no. two of them members of this court. but 15 justices have said yes, of varying political backgrounds. will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the constitution hand its reading are just political acts? >> what does this reveal? why is this a moment to highlight, jeffrey? >> because the court prides itself, all of the justices like to say that we are not politicians, we are judges, and we enforce the law, not because we're democrats are republicans, but because we are making a good faith effort to interpret the constitution in an apolitical way. what sotomayor was saying, what breyer was saying, what justice kagan was saying at various times in this argument is, look, nothing has changed about abortion and the law except that the composition of this court has changed because donald trump got to appoint three members and ruth bader ginsburg was replaced by someone much more conservative. if the only thing that matters is r

to the point after viability? >> the reason this issue's hard is that you can't accommodate both interests. you have to pick. that's the fundamental problem. >> that last voice was kavanagh. his comments suggest he's inclined to uphold mississippi's 15-week ban, but back when being confirmed, he emphasized the importance of precedent. >> what would you say your position today is on a woman's right to choose? >> as a judge, it is an important precedent of the supreme court. by it, i mean roe v. wade and planned parenthood versus casey. been reaffirmed many times. casey is precedent on precedent, which itself is an important factor. >> republican senator susan collins, you may remember, assured americans at that time that kavanagh would leave roe alone. >> we talked about whether he considered roe to be settled law. he said that he agreed with what justice roberts said at his nomination hearing in which he said that it was settled law. >> our system appears to encourage nominees of the supreme court to mislead the p

these two things are not separable and the viability conversation. kavanaugh, what was so disturbing about justice kavanaugh was he didn't really deal with precedents. oh, these are just two equal interests, leave it up to the states and the legislatures. by the way, the supreme court enabled suppression coming out of south carolina cases undermine so many people's ability to get to ballot box. these are just two equal interests, interests of a fetus that's not viable and women controlling their body so we can lever it to politics. this is why we have fundamental rights, the point that lawyers made. no states should be able to take this away from you and the most disgusting thing that happened in this and it was disgusting was to talk about brown verses board of education and compare it to overruling roe. what brown was saying -- >> that came up with justice aledo who kept oncoming back to that and coming back to what courts do in 1869. this is the point, we were comparing protecting fundamental rights to be free from racial discrimination to overrul

wade which is the pre viability standard of 22 to 24 weeks. it is not clear whether they are willing to overturn roe v. wade, but i think they can effectively do that in this two step -- they often like to do. we will not overrule roe v. wade right now, we will just uphold this mississippi law. we are left without the standard that we had before. so essentially, it is all it's fair game now four states on abortion laws. >> we peter baker, let's talk about where this may be going with the help of some things that on this network earlier by frequent guest of ours and why you law professor melissa murray, who -- at the federal level. >> this has been a long game of the conservative legal movement for some years, we have never allowed fundamental rights to be subject to the whims, to be subject of the whims of the majority. if you think that game marriage is not on deck after a day like this, you are frankly, completely, delusional. they are coming for that to. >> so, peter, if you would put today's oral arguments and the comments by registered in

the viability, it seems to me, doesn't have anything to do with choice. but if it really is an issue about choice, why is 15 weeks not enough time? >> jessica snyder is at the supreme court. jessica, we heard the supreme court justice there. a spirited debate among all the justices there. >> reporter: that's right, john, and it really seems that when you add on the justice's comments, all six conservative justices based on their questioning do seem to be leaning towards upholding this mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks. you heard the chief justice john roberts there talking about why isn't 15 weeks enough time to allow women to have abortions, and at that point after, the state might be able to ban it. that's one of the questions here the court will grapple with. the other one is should they overturn roe v. wade completely, because there is a way they could still uphold this law but maybe not overturn roe v. wade completely. however, five of the justices really seem to be weighing on the side that maybe roe v. wade should be overturne

to the point after viability? >> the reason this issue is hard is that you can't accommodate both interests. you have to pick. that's the fundamental problem. >> i thought he said this was settled at his hearings. >> and susan collins based the vote for his confirmation on the idea it was settled. that was then. >> that was then. conservatives have been working for a long time to get a court like this. >> decades. decades. the supreme court has been the great conservative project and roe v wade is the great target of that project and they thought they came close in 1992 when the casey decision came out. they were surprised what david suitor and sandra day o'connor republican appointees voted to uphold roe versus wade. the scrutiny that republican appointees to the court have gotten since then is very different. they have been scrubbed to make sure that they will vote to overturn roe v wade and today we look -- it looked to me at least like that effort is on the verge of success. >> who do those hearings -- do they

could have just said listen, roe versus wade sets the red line at 24 weeks, around there, which is viability. and this is clearly in violation of wade -- roe versus wade. there's nothing for the court to do here other than enforce the law. the fact that the court took the case, took months to consider whether to take it on these circumstances is troubles. it's notable that mississippi, when it first filed its petition asking the court to take the case, made clear or stated it was not interested in seeking to overrule roe versus wade. but that position changed once amy coney barrett was put on the united states supreme court. now it is asking for a complete reversal of roe and the secondary case of planned parenthood versus casey, which means obliterating a constitutional right. normally, we have these rights and the court will balance how to manage that. what they're asking is to take the right away completely. that is troubling for reasons beyond just abortion frankly. >> harry, the supreme court kim mentioned, resisted discussing this case 12 times. you say that suggests there are four vot

once there's medical viability, the baby can live apart from the mother, the state has an interest in protecting the child. here's the problem. that was 1973. 1992. today. the ability to protect an unborn child is incredibly enhappensed. we're one of seven nations in the entire world this allow abortion on demand at 20 weeks. 20 weeks over five months in to the pregnancy, you're encouraged to sing to your unborn child because they can associate your voice as a child. the theory of the case is to abort a baby at 20 weeks is an excruciating death. babies feel pain. justice sotomayor doesn't understand what she's talking about. she suggested that babies at this period of time in development are not conscious human beings. they are. they feel pain. to operate on a baby at 20 weeks, doctors provide anesthesia to the unborn child because in the process of operating on the baby to save its life, you want to provide anesthesia because they feel pain. i'm confident that the supreme court is going to move away from the medical viability standard to some -- [technical difficulties] why then does

wade sets the red line at 24 weeks, around there, which is viability. this is clearly in violation of roe v. wade. there's nothing for the court to do here other than enforce the law. the fact that the court took the case, it took months to consider whether to take it, on these circumstances is troubling. in addition, i think it's notable that mississippi, when it first filed its petition for certiorari, made clear or at least stated it was not interested in seeking to overrule roe v. wade. but that position changed once amy coney barrett was put on the united states supreme court. now it is asking for a complete reversal of roe and the secondary case, planned parenthood versus casey, which means really obliterating a constitutional right. normally, don, we have these rights. government has interests in infringing on the rights, and the court will balance how to manage that. what they're asking is to take the right away completely, and that is really troubling for reasons beyond just abortion frankly. >> harry, i want you to weigh in here because the su