Special Edition: Supreme Court overturns Roe & Casey
Read more news and less commentary from all viewpoints.
Good Friday! We are back with a special Supreme Court/Roe edition.
My take: It’s one of those days when you remember where you were. Kennedy assassinated, John Lennon murdered, 911 and all of us have our one personal events we remember when we heard…I was flying today between Portland, Maine and Newark, NJ. While we expected the ruling, it is a bit startling to see one online site after another announcing this news. I have always had a rule with Roe and Abortion — I try not to discuss it. This in no way means I feel a certain way. Like much in life, I can see all viewpoints. I know so many of you don’t understand that part of me. In the case of Abortion, I know how very personal the decision is. I also know that many of us have political beliefs that may come into conflict with our personal beliefs. An individual can believe in a woman’s right to make a choice but personally choose to never make the decision to have an abortion. That means they believe in abortion rights but they don’t believe they would ever abort a child. My children are adopted. They obviously have a viewpoint based on their life experience. There are questions that impact Abortion decisions including rape and a baby’s health. Religion often plays a huge role in an individual’s beliefs. I find it hard when individuals take a complicated decision and make it black and white. I see it from all perspectives. That doesn’t mean I agree with them. Politicians often have one agenda — to advocate for their party. There are exceptions. There are pro-life Democrats and pro-choice Republicans. The late Harry Reid, a Democrat Senate Majority Leader, was anti-abortion. “Casey” was the pro-life Pennsylvania Governor, a Democrat, who sued to stop abortion. His son, the Democrat Senator from Pennsylvania, is also anti-choice. Last week I saw that more than 20 percent of all pregnancies are terminated. That was startling. In some ways, it may touch all of our lives. I can comment on one thing. This is Donald Trump’s decision. This is his legacy. His three Supreme Court appointments made this happen. Elections do have consequences on both sides. Maine Senator Susan Collins will tell you today that she was lied to. So will Joe Manchin. Now it is up to the states and the United States Congress to help America find its way on Abortion. Toady also was day 1 of the 2022 and 2024 Campaigns . It will be game on and now Abortion and the make-up of the Supreme Court will be on the ballot front and center.
Here is a “1 to…” of stories on today’s monumental news. I have tried to balance news reporting from both left-leaning and right-leaning publications. I also have tried to minimize the posts that are purely commentary. I suggest number 1. It is the actual decision.
COMPLETE DECISION: DOBBS, STATE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, ET AL. v. JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION ET AL.
NBC: In furious dissent, Supreme Court’s liberal wing slams 'draconian' abortion decision: "One result of today’s decision is certain: the curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens,” the justices wrote, predicting dire and deadly consequences.
FOX: 10 key quotes from Justice Alito's opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.
CNN: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.: The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, holding that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion. The opinion is the most consequential Supreme Court decision in decades and will transform the landscape of women's reproductive health in America. Going forward, abortion rights will be determined by states, unless Congress acts. Already, nearly half of the states have or will pass laws that ban abortion while others have enacted strict measures regulating the procedure.
FOX: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in landmark opinion: The Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively ending recognition of a constitutional right to abortion and giving individual states the power to allow, limit, or ban the practice altogether.
CNN: "It's a sad day for the court and for the country": Biden delivers remarks on Roe v. Wade ruling.
POLITICO: Abortion laws by state: Where abortions are illegal after Roe v. Wade. Not all trigger bans immediately kick in, but abortion will soon be illegal in more than a dozen states. ABC: Where abortion stands in your state: A state-by-state breakdown of abortion laws. In many states, the right to an abortion is not protected by state law.
THE HILL: Trump praises Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade: ormer President Trump celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to overturn Roe. v. Wade, the landmark ruling granting a right to abortion.
“This is following the Constitution, and giving rights back when they should have been given long ago,” Trump told Fox News shortly after the decision was announced.
USA TODAY: PELOSI: SCOTUS 'is eviscerating Americans' rights': House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted the Supreme Court's abortion ruling Friday overturning Roe v. Wade, calling it "an evisceration of Americans' rights" and warning that "Republicans are plotting a nationwide abortion ban." (June 24).
BUSINESS INSIDER: Justice Thomas says the Supreme Court should reconsider rulings that protect access to contraception and same-sex marriage as the court overturns Roe v. Wade: In a concurring opinion with the Supreme Court's Friday ruling to overturn the precedent set in Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should reconsider rulings that protect access to contraception, same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, with Justice Samuel Alito penning an opinion in favor of Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health.
SLATE: Alito’s final Dobbs opinion is even more extreme than his first draft: On Friday, the Supreme Court handed down its 6–3 ruling overturning a Mississippi abortion ban and 5–4 ruling ending the 49-year-old precedent Roe v. Wade and, with it, the constitutional right to an abortion in the United States. The majority opinion was authored by Justice Samuel Alito, a George W. Bush appointee. A version of the opinion was leaked last month. When that draft opinion leaked, I analyzed the most extreme lines that vilified “abortionists” and “murderess[es],” and opened up the possibility that other unenumerated rights like birth control and marriage equality might be diminished or completely ended. The most radical passages, however, opened the door to fetal personhood laws that would ultimately criminalize abortions and even miscarriages as homicide. Now that the final copy of the opinion is out, what has changed from that initial draft? It turns out, virtually nothing. Save for some stylistic and typographical changes, the official version appears to leave Alito’s words from the draft almost entirely unchanged. The one substantive change is the addition of sections seeking to rebut the dissenting opinion of Justices Sonia Sotomayor (Obama appointee), Elena Kagan (Obama appointee), and Stephen Breyer (Clinton appointee), as well as the concurring opinion of Chief Justice John Roberts (George W. Bush appointee).
The National Review: What the Dobbs majority said at their Senate Hearings.
NPR TERRY GROSS: Why overturning Roe isn't the final goal of the anti-abortion movement:
NY POST: Protesters mass outside Supreme Court to bash Roe v. Wade abortion ruling: Hundreds of irate protesters amassed outside the US Supreme Court building Friday to denounce the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade — and additional cops were being brought in to try to keep mayhem at bay. About 2 miles from that scene, a pro-life activist scaled the Frederick Douglass Bridge and flew a banner calling on Congress to preserve abortion rights, according to NBC. A throng of shattered pro-choice backers quickly began to swell behind barricades outside the building housing the nation’s top court after its ruling came down, with many of those gathered shedding tears and screaming their opposition. Local police units were on high alert for unrest as the crowds continued to grow around noon.
AXIOS: How states enforce anti-abortion laws: In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and its other precedents, penalties for abortion providers are expected to become more severe, and abortion rights advocates fear they could more forcefully target patients seeking abortions. Currently, penalties for violating abortion laws vary widely by state, and many state laws specifically say a patient getting an abortion cannot be prosecuted. But that may soon change.
Daily Beast: ‘Alarmed’ Joe Manchin accepts he’s been played by Kavanaugh and Gorsuch.
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Attorney general, governor issue opinions outlawing abortion in Missouri.
NPR: After Roe, New Mexico could see influx at abortion facilities.
POLITICO: Supreme Court’s Roe reversal reshapes Democrats’ battle to keep Congress: Abortion access is now an even bigger flashpoint in places where it’s at immediate risk following the decision — including several swing states.
POLITICO: Roe reversal divides 2024 GOP field: The split is over how far they would go to eradicate abortion in America — and the language they use to talk about it.
More to come Tuesday morning!