The abortion case is named after Thomas Dobbs, who says he has nothing to do with it

Thomas Dobbs is the state health officer at the Mississippi State Department of Health. His name appears on the landmark Supreme Court case on abortion rights, despite having "nothing to do with it," he has said. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

The Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization clears the way for states to reshape abortion law in the U.S., nearly 50 years after the court enshrined abortion rights at the federal level in the Roe v. Wade decision.

The Dobbs case came to the high court from Mississippi, where the Jackson Women's Health Organization has long been the only abortion provider. In 2018, the state enacted a law that bans abortion after 15 weeks, with few exceptions — and not for cases involving rape or incest.