Mississippi's top public health official is named in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a dispute over a state law that would ban most abortions after the 15th week but that could be used to overturn Roe v. Wade.
"The Mississippi State Department of Health's only role regarding abortion facilities is the regulations to support the law, the inspection and the licensing of that facility," Sharlot wrote in an email. A federal district judge blocked the law from taking effect. When the state appealed to the Supreme Court, the name of the case was flipped, to Dobbs versus the clinic.
Another name that often arises in the debate is that of is Robert P. Casey, a former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania who was an anti-abortion advocate. In 1989, he worked with the state's legislature to enact a law that placed several limitations on abortion. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania challenged the law. In 1992, the Supreme Court upheld most of the restrictions, but also affirmed a woman's right to an abortion. Casey died in 2000.