Fitch Filed A Brief In Dobbs V. JWHO With The Supreme Court, The Case That Overturned Roe V. Wade. According to a press release by Lynn Fitch, “Today, in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed her brief with the Supreme Court of the United States, defending the right of the people to pass laws that protect life and women’s health and address legitimate interests of the State. ‘There are those who would like to believe that Roe v. Wade settled the issue of abortion once and for all,’ said Attorney General Fitch. ‘But all it did was establish a special-rules regime for abortion jurisprudence that has left these cases out of step with other Court decisions and neutral principles of law applied by the Court. As a result, state legislatures, and the people they represent, have lacked clarity in passing laws to protect legitimate public interests, and artificial guideposts have stunted important public debate on how we, as a society, care for the dignity of women and their children. It is time for the Court to set this right and return this political debate to the political branches of government.’” [Attorney General – Lynn Fitch, press release, 7/22/21]
(VIDEO): Fitch Claimed That The Day That Roe V. Wade Was Overturned Was “Amazing” And Said That AG Office Felt “So Good And So Uplifted.” According to Lynn Fitch, “Fitch: ‘What an amazing day… We’re here to celebrate oh my goodness 50 years later actually celebrating…. It was amazing. We felt so good and so uplifted….This is a good case. God had given us this time to be here to celebrate. Now we think about what do we do next step. So we argued empower women and promote life.’” [Fox News: Fox & Friends, 1/20/23]
Fitch Said That Abortion Was A State Issue After Roe V Wade Was Overturned. According to Lynn Fitch, “We asked the justices to overturn Roe v. Wade. We said it certainly needed to be returned back to the state and it should always be a state issue. And they agreed. So hence here we are.” [WLOX, 2/5/23]
Fitch Claimed That Abortion Policy Making Should Be Made By “Elected Leaders” Who “Speak The People’s Will” Or They Will “Be Held Accountable At The Ballot Box.” According to a press release by Lynn Fitch, “Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to consider Mississippi’s 15-week abortion law and the constitutionality of pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions. In 2018, the Mississippi state legislature, with broad bipartisan support in both chambers, adopted the Gestational Age Act, which protects life after 15 weeks gestation. Jackson Women’s Health Organization challenged the law. ‘Over the past fifty years, there have been a lot of changes in the world. Technology and science have advanced to support life earlier in the womb,’ Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said to the crowd outside the Supreme Court. ‘The roles of women and men have been altered and workplace and cultural norms have progressed to make it easier for working mothers to balance professional success and family life. I know how hard it has been – and how hard it can still be. I was a working, single mother of three beautiful children. But, year after year, we are making the changes in our society that make it easier.’” [Attorney General – Lynn Fitch, press release, 12/1/21]
(VIDEO): Fitch Said That She Would Enforce And Uphold Laws That Were Applicable In Response To Whether She Would Support A Ban On Contraception. According to Lynn Fitch, “Reporter: ‘So abortion rights advocates are saying while here we go, Mississippi is now going to go after contraception. Mississippi is now going to prevent women from leaving the state to have an abortion. Mississippi is going to crack down on the so-called abortion pill or medical abortion. Is any of that going to happen?’ Fitch: ‘Well, certainly there are some federal laws that prohibit the abortion pill. I mean, we will certainly be in enforcing and upholding the laws that are applicable. But no, I see this as an opportunity. Like I say, we've got some great things that our head and I think the Dobbs decision prompted us to do that, to look at those significant factors that impact our women, our families, our children across our state.’” [WLOX, 2/5/23]
Fitch Called To Reject Any Attempt To Undermine The Dobbs Decision After Planned Parenthood Brought A Case Against FL’s 15 Week Abortion Ban. According to a press release by Lynn Fitch, “(Jackson, Mississippi) Attorney General Lynn Fitch led a coalition of 19 Attorneys General in filing an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Florida in the case of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida v. State of Florida. ‘In the Dobbs case, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that the issue of abortion is a matter to be decided by the people and their legislators, not the courts,’ said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. ‘We urge the court to respect the will of the people and reject any attempt to undermine the democratic process.’ Planned Parenthood brought the underlying case, seeking injunctive relief against House Bill 5, which prohibits abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation, with exceptions for life, health, and fetal abnormality. They base their case on the Florida Constitution’s Privacy Clause.” [Attorney General – Lynn Fitch, press release, 4/10/23]
Fitch Filed A Complaint To Reverse The FDA’s Approval Of Abortion Pills And Claimed That The FDA Was Defying Federal And State Laws. According to the Washington Post, “Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R), with 21 attorneys general from red states, argued in a brief that the FDA ‘undermined the public interest’ by allowing the medication. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), also with 21 co-signers, said in court filings that revoking the drug’s approval would have ‘devastating consequences’ for Americans. The clashing briefs are the latest in rising tensions around the case, which could undo the FDA’s decades-old approval of mifepristone, the drug used in medication abortions. The lawsuit was filed in November by conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. It argues that the FDA lacked the authority to approve mifepristone and did not thoroughly study the medication, while claiming that the drug is unsafe. […] On the Republican side, Fitch stated that the FDA is defying federal and state laws in its decision to allow access to the drug. ‘In the Dobbs case, the Supreme Court affirmed that states may enact laws that protect unborn life, women’s health and the integrity of the medical profession, and we will not allow the Biden administration to trample on this fundamental constitutional building block,’ Fitch said.” [Washington Post, 2/11/23]
Fitch Celebrated When GenBioPro, A Medication Abortion Manufacturer, Filed To Dismiss Their Own Case. According to a press release by Lynn Fitch, “Today, GenBioPro (GBP), a generic medication abortion manufacturer, filed to dismiss its case in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who defended the State’s abortion laws in this case, issued the following statement: ‘We are pleased to have again successfully defended Mississippi’s abortion laws. These laws represent the will of the people and the intent of the Legislature to promote life, protect the health and safety of women, and preserve the integrity of the medical profession. Our victory in Dobbs affirmed the right of the people to pass laws that defend these legitimate public interests.’” [Attorney General – Lynn Fitch, press release, 8/18/22]
Prior To The Dismissal, Fitch Filed In Opposition To GenBioro’s Motion For Leave To File Amended Complaint. According to a press release by Lynn Fitch, “Leaning into recent statements by the Biden Administration following the Dobbs decision, GenBioPro had argued that the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had established a federal policy for access to medication abortion that preempted Mississippi law, including the State’s trigger law, which was also recently vindicated in a case litigated by Attorney General Fitch. In her filing earlier this month opposing GenBioPro’s Motion for Leave to File Amended Complaint, the Attorney General noted that two federal laws prohibit distribution of abortion drugs through the mail. (18 U.S.C. §§ 1461, 1462) As stated in that brief: ‘GBP’s preemption claim relies on the proposition that the FDA’s ‘statutorily-authorized [Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy(REMS)] for mifepristone’ creates a uniform national policy that preempts state laws banning medication abortion. But there is no such federal policy. If anything, federal law adopts the opposite policy from what GBP claims. Federal law criminalizes the use of the mails to do what GBP demands this Court allow it to do: distribute abortion-inducing drugs.’” [Attorney General – Lynn Fitch, press release, 8/18/22]
Fitch And 18 Other AGs Filed Comments In Opposition To A Proposed Change That Would Prevent State Agencies From Obtaining Information On An Abortion Performed Out Of State In A State Where Abortion Is Legal. According to Mississippi Today, “Attorney General Lynn Fitch wants to ensure Mississippi authorities are allowed to investigate and gather information on abortions performed out of state on Mississippi women. Fitch, Mississippi’s first-term Republican attorney general, and 18 other state attorneys general have filed comments in opposition to a proposed change to federal regulations, known as HIPAA, that protects the privacy of people’s health care. Under the rule change proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services, state agencies would not be able to glean information on an abortion performed in a state where abortion is legal. For instance, if a woman from Mississippi, where abortion is illegal in most instances, traveled to a state where abortions are allowed to receive the procedure, a Mississippi law enforcement agency would not be able to gather information on the procedure under the proposed rule.” [Mississippi Today, 7/13/23]
Fitch Filed A Brief In Dobbs V. JWHO With The Supreme Court, The Case That Overturned Roe V. Wade. According to a press release by Lynn Fitch, “Today, in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed her brief with the Supreme Court of the United States, defending the right of the people to pass laws that protect life and women’s health and address legitimate interests of the State. ‘There are those who would like to believe that Roe v. Wade settled the issue of abortion once and for all,’ said Attorney General Fitch. ‘But all it did was establish a special-rules regime for abortion jurisprudence that has left these cases out of step with other Court decisions and neutral principles of law applied by the Court. As a result, state legislatures, and the people they represent, have lacked clarity in passing laws to protect legitimate public interests, and artificial guideposts have stunted important public debate on how we, as a society, care for the dignity of women and their children. It is time for the Court to set this right and return this political debate to the political branches of government.’” [Attorney General – Lynn Fitch, press release, 7/22/21]
Fitch Said That She Would Defend The Laws Of The State, So The Court Should Affirm The Right Of People To Protect Their Legitimate Interests Prior To Roe V. Wade Overturning. According to a opinion by Lynn Fitch, “As Mississippi’s attorney general, I have the duty to defend the laws of my state, and here I do so gladly. We ask the court simply to affirm the right of the people to protect its legitimate interests and to provide clarity on how they may do so.” [Wall Street Journal – Lynn Fitch, 6/14/21]
Fitch Claimed That Roe V. Wade Put A Political Intuition Before “Sound Legal Reasoning.” According to an op-ed by Lynn Fitch, “On Dec. 1, we will make the case to the Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade and returning decision-making about abortion policy to the people. We recognize the magnitude of what we are asking. But the reason it represents such a monumental change is because almost 49 years ago the court put political intuition above sound legal reasoning and reached a conclusion in Roe utterly unsupported by the Constitution or the court’s own jurisprudence. It is time to correct that mistake.” [Washington Post – Lynn Fitch, 11/28/21]
2021: In An Op-Ed, Fitch Said That Roe V. Wade Was “Utterly Unsupported By The Constitution Or The Court’s Own Jurisprudence,” So It Was “Time To Correct That Mistake.” According to an op-ed by Lynn Fitch, “On Dec. 1, we will make the case to the Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade and returning decision-making about abortion policy to the people. We recognize the magnitude of what we are asking. But the reason it represents such a monumental change is because almost 49 years ago the court put political intuition above sound legal reasoning and reached a conclusion in Roe utterly unsupported by the Constitution or the court’s own jurisprudence. It is time to correct that mistake.” [Washington Post – Lynn Fitch, 11/28/21]