Klobuchar says Alito is ‘taking us back to the 1850s’

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Sunday said Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is “taking us back to the 1850s” in his draft majority opinion that shows the bench poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“This is 50 years of rights in a leaked opinion where Justice Alito is literally not just taking us back to the 1950s, he’s taking us back to 1850s. He actually cites the fact that abortion was criminalized back when the 14th Amendment was adopted,” Klobuchar told anchor Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.”

The senator’s comments came less than one week after Politico published a draft opinion that showed the justices poised to overturn the decision made in the 1973 court case that legalized abortion on the federal level.

The draft opinion, written by Alito, said “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” and argued that “a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history.”

Abortions rights advocates are now sounding the alarm, warning of what will happen if the court rolls back the nearly 50-year precedent.

Klobuchar on Sunday said “the fall will be swift” if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

“Let’s be clear about what’s going on here. With this leaked opinion, the court is looking at reversing 50 years of women’s rights and the fall will be swift. Over 20 states have laws in place already,” the senator said.

According to an NBC News analysis of data from the Center for Reproductive Rights, 23 states would enact bans on abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

“I think the question that voters are going to be asking when 75 percent of people are with us on this, it’s who should make this decision? Should it be a woman and her doctor or a politician? Should it be Ted Cruz making this decision? Or a woman and her family? Where are women’s equal rights?” Klobuchar added.

The senator said that if the upper chamber is unsuccessful in passing a House-approved bill to codify Roe v. Wade, which is likely to happen, Democrats would look to elect abortion rights supporters.

“If we are not successful, then we go to the ballot box. We march straight to the ballot box and the women of this country and the men who stand with them will vote like they’ve never voted before,” she said.

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