- Title: A look back at Supreme Court justices on abortion rights
- Date: 3rd May 2022
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (MARCH 21, 2017) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) THEN SUPREME COURT NOMINEE NEIL GORSUCH TAKING A SEAT AS PHOTOGRAPHERS SURROUND HIM (SOUNDBITE) (English) SUPREME COURT NOMINEE, NEIL GORSUCH, SAYING: "Senator, again I would tell you that Roe versus Wade, decided in 1973 is a precedent of the United States Supreme Court. It has been reaffirmed, that the reliance on interests considerations are important there. And all of the other factors that go into analyzing precedent have to be considered. It is a precedent of the United States Supreme Court. It was reaffirmed in Casey in 1992 and in several other cases." WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JUNE 28, 2010) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) THEN U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE ELENA KAGAN BEING SWORN IN AT THE CONFIRMATION HEARING SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY, DEMOCRAT OF VERMONT TAKING SEAT (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE, ELENA KAGAN, SAYING: "I will make no pledges today except this one. that if confirmed I will remember and abide by all these lessons. I will listen hard to every party before the court and to each of my colleagues. I will work hard. And I will do my best to consider every case impartially, modestly with a commitment to principle and in accordance with the law."
- Embargoed: 17th May 2022 15:19
- Keywords: Alito Casey v Planned Parenthood Coney Barrett Gorsuch Kagan Kavanaugh Roberts Roe v Wade Sotomayor Supreme Court Thomas abortion
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Lawmaking,Government/Politics,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA006009101011970RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The bombshell draft U.S. Supreme Court decision suggesting the court may overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion has sent Democrats scrambling, with lawmakers and activists looking for some way to head off the sweeping social change. A look back at the Supreme Court justices’ views on abortion:
-- Justice Amy Coney Barrett, nominated by former President Donald Trump and confirmed in 2020 when she was asked to comment on former Supreme Court Justice about whether Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided, responded saying, "Senator, I completely understand why you are asking the question. But again, I can't pre-commit or say, yes, I'm going in with some agenda because I'm not I don't have any agenda. I have no agenda to try to overrule Casey. I have an agenda to stick to the rule of law and decide cases as they come."
--Justice Brett Kavanaugh was nominated by former President Donald Trump and confirmed in 2018.
During his confirmation hearing, he said, "One of the important things to keep in mind about Roe v Wade is that it has been reaffirmed many times over the past 45 years as you know, and most prominently, most importantly reaffirmed in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey in 1992."
--Justice Neil Gorsuch was nominated by former President Donald Trump and confirmed in 2017.
During his confirmation hearing, he said, "Senator, again I would tell you that Roe versus Wade, decided in 1973 is a precedent of the United States Supreme Court. It has been reaffirmed, that the reliance on interest considerations is important there. And all of the other factors that go into analyzing precedent have to be considered. It is a precedent of the United States Supreme Court. It was reaffirmed in Casey in 1992 and in several other cases."
-- Justice Elena Kagan was nominated by Former President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2010.
Kagan has not written any of the court's major decisions on abortion, according to the Washington Post. But she filed a dissent when her colleagues allowed a restrictive abortion law to go into effect in Texas, arguing "Without full briefing or argument, and after less than 72 hours' thought, this Court greenlights the operation of Texas's patently unconstitutional law banning most abortions. … This Court's shadow-docket decision making every day becomes more unreasoned, inconsistent, and impossible to defend," the Washington Post reported.
--Justice Sonia Sotomayor was nominated by Former President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2009.
During her confirmation hearing, she testified that she was "asked no question by anyone including the President about my views on any specific legal issue." During the Supreme Court debate in December 2021 on upholding a restrictive Mississippi abortion law, she said, "Now, the sponsors of this bill, the House bill in Mississippi, said, 'We're doing it because we have new justices.' The newest ban that Mississippi has put in place, the six-week ban, the Senate sponsor said, 'We're doing it because we have new justices on the Supreme Court.' Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?"
-- Justice Samuel Alito, nominated by former President George W. Bush and confirmed in 2006.
During his Supreme Court nomination hearing, he said, "And it is the principle that the courts, in general, should follow their past precedence and it is important for a variety of reasons. It is important because it limits the power of the judiciary. It is important because it protects reliance interests. It is important because it reflects the view that courts should respect the judgments and the wisdom that are embodied in prior judicial decisions."
-- Chief Justice John Roberts, nominated by former President George W. Bush and confirmed in 2005.
During his confirmation hearing, he said, "I come before the committee with no agenda. I have no platform. Judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes. I have no agenda, but I do have a commitment. If I am confirmed, I will confront every case with an open mind. I will fully and fairly analyze the legal arguments that are presented. I will be open to the considered views of my colleagues on the bench, and I will decide every case on the record according to the rule of law without fear or favor to the best of my ability." During the Supreme Court debate in December 2021 on upholding a restrictive Mississippi abortion law, he said, "If you think that the issue is one of choice, that women should have a choice to terminate their pregnancy, that supposes that there is a point at which they've had the fair choice, opportunity to choose, and why would 15 weeks be an inappropriate line?"
-- Justice Clarence Thomas, nominated by former President George H.W. Bush and confirmed in 1991.
During his confirmation hearing, he said, "I have no reason or agenda to prejudge the issue or to predispose to rule one way or the other on the issue of abortion, which is a difficult issue. … I think to do that would seriously compromise my ability to sit on a case of that importance and involve that important issue."
(Production: Deborah Lutterbeck) - Copyright Holder: POOL (CAN SELL)
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