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 Abortion opponents have asked the court, which has a 6-3
conservative majority, to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade
ruling that recognized a woman's right to end a pregnancy and made
abortion legal nationwide after it was outlawed in certain states.
More than 500 athletes and groups signed a friend-of-the-court brief
to the justices, including 26 Olympians, 73 professional athletes
and various athlete associations. They argued that abortion rights
have helped the growth of women's sports and expressed concern that
future athletes would suffer without those protections.
Without the right to terminate a pregnancy, "the physical tolls of
forced pregnancy and childbirth would undermine athletes' ability to
actualize their full human potential," the brief stated.
"As women athletes and people in sports, we must have the power to
make important decisions about our own bodies and exert control over
our reproductive lives," Rapinoe, a two-time World Cup winner and an
Olympic gold medalist, said in a statement, calling legislation
curbing abortion rights "infuriating and un-American."
Rapinoe has been outspoken on various political issues. Bird and
Taurasi, both stars in the WNBA, helped the U.S. women's basketball
team win the gold medal at this year's Tokyo Olympics. Taurasi is
the WNBA's all-time leading scorer. Bird is married to Rapinoe.
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 Other signatories included
Ashleigh Johnson, the first Black woman on the
U.S. Olympic water polo team and also an Olympic
gold medalist in Tokyo.
The Supreme Court on Monday has set oral
arguments in the case for Dec. 1. A ruling is
due by the end of next June.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a
Republican backed by abortion opponents, said in
papers filed with the court in July that the Roe
v. Wade ruling and a subsequent 1992 decision
that affirmed it were both "egregiously wrong"
and should be overturned.
Mississippi's court filing marked the first time
that the Republican-governed state, in seeking
to revive a law blocked by lower courts, made
overturning Roe v. Wade a central part of its
argument.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will
Dunham)
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