The Connection Between Nat’l Pork Producers Council v. Ross and Abortion

• January 23rd, 2023
• in Capstone Commentary

By: Delaney Epley

Nat’l Pork Producers Council v. Ross is a pending case argued in front of the Supreme Court in 2022. The case revolves around Proposition 12, passed by California in 2018, which prohibits the sale of pork from animals confined in a manner inconsistent with California’s standards. The case’s central question is whether this law is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution’s dormant commerce clause. Here, the argument is that the law violates the dormant clause because it essentially forces hog farmers to comply with California’s regulations of their facilities, even though they are not in the state. As 87% of pork in the country is consumed outside of California, it primarily affects non-Californian transactions.[1] On its face, this topic certainly does not bring abortion to mind. However, they have the potential to be linked in a way that one might not think.