Pelosi: Failure to strike down Mississippi abortion law would 'seriously erode' legitimacy of Supreme Court

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has released a statement regarding the Supreme Court's consideration of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a direct challenge to the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established an American's constitutional right to an abortion. Oral arguments in the Dobbs case began Wednesday.

Of the decision, Pelosi says the Supreme Court has "the opportunity and responsibility to honor the Constitution, the law, and this basic truth: every woman has the constitutional right to basic reproductive health care."

The Mississippi law, which bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, is "part of a nationwide assault against women's freedoms," and is "brazenly unconstitutional," the speaker added. Furthermore, the right to an abortion has "been repeatedly affirmed," and "any failure to fully strike down the Mississippi ban would seriously erode the legitimacy of the court," she said.

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Read Pelosi's statement below: