CNN media activist Kate Bolduan conversed with her colleague, Joe Johns, on an airing of “At This Hour” about the threat to Roe v. Wade. She began by discussing the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and expressed concern about the possible outcomes of the Supreme Courts’ potential decision regarding critical abortion cases. She said:

“At this hour protesters are gathering in Washington for a large anti-abortion demonstration. It’s a march held annually since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision: Roe v. Wade. But this year, organizers are expecting the rally to be a historic one since the right to an abortion is more in peril than ever before.

The Supreme Court [sic] considering more than one case this term that could effectively ban a women’s, women’s access to safe and legal abortions. Tomorrow is the 49th anniversary of Roe.

Let’s get over to CNN’s Joe Johns, he’s live in Washington with more on this. Joe, there’s no mistaking this is a pivotal moment for a woman’s right to choose.”

Johns concurred, noting the “huge numbers of people streaming in from every direction,” and that the crowd “contains a lot of Catholic high school students, but many adults as well.” He continued:

“An expectation here as you said that things are going to be very different, perhaps this time next year, simply because of the 6-to-3 conservative majority in the United States Supreme Court as well as the cases that are before the Court including the Texas case, the Mississippi case, and this expectation that the Supreme Court will do something dramatic to change the standard of Roe v. Wade.”

He then brought up a CNN poll showing that “more than 2 to 1 of Americans polled said they don’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.”

Data on American attitudes toward abortion are more nuanced than the CNN poll suggests. While polling shows most Americans do not wish to see Roe v. Wade struck down, most seek more restrictions than the Supreme Court decision allowed. The Associated Press reported:

The new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 61% of Americans say abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances in the first trimester of pregnancy. However, 65% said abortion should usually be illegal in the second trimester, and 80% said that about the third trimester.

Perhaps folks like Bolduan have reason to be concerned. With the makeup of today’s Supreme Court, it seems highly likely that Roe v. Wade might be overturned. Even if the decision isn’t completely repudiated, there is a good chance that the court might make a ruling allowing states to institute more restrictions on abortion.

Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 20 weeks is the subject of the lawsuit the court is deciding. If the court rules in favor of upholding the state’s abortion law, it is probable that Texas’ heartbeat law will be the next on the docket. The law bans abortion after a baby’s heartbeat is detectable, which typically occurs about six weeks into a pregnancy. The court has already declined a request to interfere with the law, but it is all but certain it will face legal challenges that will eventually make it to the highest level.

Conservatives and other pro-lifers have speculated that this year’s March for Life could be the final event. Its fundamental purpose is to bring about the demise of Roe v. Wade, and if the Supreme Court strikes it down, the event’s objective will have been reached. With the way the proceedings went when the court heard the Mississippi case, it can be no wonder that the left is concerned about the outcome. The court is expected to issue a ruling in only a few months, so it appears that the nation will see the fate of abortion soon.