The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) called for prayer Wednesday morning as the U.S. Supreme Court prepared to hear oral arguments in a Mississippi abortion case.

In a Facebook post, the USCBB posted a link to prayfordobbs.com for "Catholic and ecumenical prayers and resources for community engagement" as the nation now awaits the high court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health.

"All are encouraged to participate," the Facebook post said.

The statement referred to the case concerning a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks from the first day of the last menstrual period.

"The question before the Court is whether all pre-viability bans on elective abortions are unconstitutional," the statement on Facebook said.

In the same statement, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said more than 600,000 babies die in abortions in the U.S. every year and "Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health could change that."

"We pray that the Court will do the right thing and allow states to once again limit or prohibit abortion, and in doing so protect millions of unborn children and their mothers from this painful, life-destroying act," Lori said. "We invite all people of good will to uphold the dignity of human life by joining us in prayer and fasting for this important case."

The high court heard oral arguments in the case later in the day.

More than 140 amicus briefs were filed in the case, including from groups who challenged the viability standard that the high court adopted in Roe v. Wade of 1973 and Planned Parenthood v. Casey of 1992, according to SCOTUSblog.com. Both cases established a "viability point,” when a baby born prematurely has a significant chance of survival. This is usually around six months into a pregnancy, an article at verywellfamily.com said.

The USCCB and other religious organizations argued in their amicus brief that "there is no constitutional basis for the viability rule," SCOTUSblog.com reported. The Center for Religious Expression argued that viability is a poor measure of Mississippi's interest in protecting fetal life.

Amicus briefs also were filed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson and Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi; Catholic Medical Association, National Association of Catholic Nurses-USA, Idaho Chooses Life and Texas Alliance for Life; African American, Hispanic, Roman Catholic and Protestant Religious and Civil Rights Organizations and Leaders; National Catholic Bioethics Center, et al.; CatholicVote.org Education Fund and Catholics for Choice, et. al, according to SCOTUSblog.com

More than 44 million abortions have occurred since the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade, including about 19 million black babies, Arizona Capitol Times reported in an op-ed published in February of last year. White women have been five times less likely than black women to abort their babies than black women, according to the op-ed, which referred to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The op-ed also referred to a 2012 study by Protecting Black Lives, which found that 79% of Planned Parenthood’s surgical abortion facilities are within walking distance of minority communities.

A 2019 study by the Lozier Institute found that women who had abortions were more than twice as likely to commit suicide than were women who carried their pregnancies to term.