On 1 December 2021, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the most momentous abortion case to come before the Court since Roe v Wade was decided in 1973. Dobbs is different from previous cases for at least one key reason: it doesn’t test the limits or scope of Roe, but rather strikes at the very heart of it. The law at issue is a Mississippi statute that prohibits abortions after 15 weeks of gestation, which is prior to the viability of the foetus. The State of Mississippi didn’t ask the Court whether or to what extent the law is permissible under Roe, because everyone agrees that it is not. Rather, Mississippi used the law to challenge the Court to vacate Roe and to return the issue of abortion access and restriction to the 50 states.