Washington: The conservative majority on the United States Supreme Court (US SC) announced that they would uphold a Mississippi law prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a decision that directly contradicts the high court's landmark ruling in favour of abortion rights, which has been in effect for nearly 50 years.

After two hours of oral arguments on Wednesday, all six conservative Supreme Court justices said they would uphold the Mississippi law, but they were split on whether the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established the constitutional right to abortion and barred states from prohibiting abortion before foetal viability, or 23 to 24 weeks, should be overturned.

Chief Justice John Roberts has stated his readiness to take a middle ground strategy that does not require Roe to be overturned. "That may be what they're asking for," Roberts said of Mississippi's request to overturn Roe, "but the issue before us today is 15 weeks." According to sources, another conservative justice, Samuel Alito, was less interested in a less broad conclusion, saying that "the two real options we have" are to reaffirm Roe or to overthrow it.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative appointee of former President Donald Trump, questioned why the Supreme Court should intervene in such a divisive issue.

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