In his podcast, "The Briefing," Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Dr. Albert Mohler answers a question from one of his listeners. He says that the Mississippi abortion case could have many possible outcomes.
A listener from Texas A&M wrote in with a question for Mohler, who answered it in the fourth episode of his podcast, which aired on December 12. There was an abortion case before the Supreme Court recently, and Luke from Texas A&M wrote to inquire about what the possible outcomes of the Dobbs case might be.
"Luke, you can look at three likely outcomes, and I'll kind of rank them," responded Mohler. "The least likely outcome is that somehow a majority of the justices just uphold Roe."
The SBTS president explained that Casey had been upheld. According to the majority of the court, the state of Mississippi does not have the power to ban abortions until 15 weeks.
Furthermore, he said that the fact that the court decided to take the case, even though it didn't have to, shows that this is the least probable outcome. Mohler feels that the only reason the court will consider the case is to make a statement about Mississippi law, and that point is about Roe and Casey.
Next, Mohler discussed the other two options which, in his opinion, are far more plausible. Here, he said, is where Christians must pay close attention to.
The third most probable outcome is a 6-3 decision. When Roe is redefined to include a ban on abortions beyond the 15th week of pregnancy, a 6-3 decision in favor of the Mississippi statute would be a big step forward. A new definition of Casey would be necessary, but it wouldn't necessarily indicate that Roe had collapsed.
He went on to explain that the 6-3 majority is made up of five conservative justices, including the chief justice, who are all on the same page. In this context, the three liberal judges are highly likely to be on the other side of the argument.
If there is a third option, the most likely outcome would be that the five-justice majority would strike down Roe v. Wade and Casey, Mohler noted.
"That would mean a reversal of Roe v. Wade, which would return the abortion question to all the 50 states for legislation," Mohler continued. "It's a good question Luke and is going to come down in all likelihood to the chief justice as that sixth vote if there is a 6-3 decision, or as one of the four against a more sweeping conservative judgment striking down Roe."
Nonetheless, many feel that the 6-3 vote would preserve the Mississippi legislation while not overturning Roe v. Wade. According to Mohler, this is most probable because if the chief justice supports the majority on that issue, he gets to choose who drafts the decision and how it is constructed. Thus, Mohler encourages other Christians to keep a careful eye on them.
"What I'm hoping for is the reversal of Roe. What I'm praying for is the reversal of Casey. What I am hoping and praying for is a 5-4 decision, if necessary, that just sets the issue of abortion clearly as not being addressed in the constitution, a decision that strikes down the infamous imbecility of the Roe v. Wade and Casey logic. But look, we're going to have to see how this comes down," he said.
Check out Dr. Mohler's previous episodes, which focused on the Supreme Court's Abortion Case and the oral arguments that he discussed in depth.
