Klobuchar Says Leaked SCOTUS Draft Opinion Overturning Roe Is ‘Taking Us Back to the 1850s’
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Senator Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) on Sunday claimed Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is “taking us back to the 1850s” with his leaked draft majority opinion that would 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 said during an appearance on ABC’s This Week.
The interview comes after Politico published a leaked majority draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health last week, which suggested the Supreme Court may be poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, returning the question of abortion to the states.
Alito’s drafted majority opinion reads: “The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.”
Klobuchar said the opinion shows the court is “looking at reversing 50 years of women’s rights and the fall will be swift,” adding that more than 20 states have laws in place already to restrict abortion.
“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 said.
However, while pro-abortion advocates often cite polls showing about seven in ten Americans say they don’t want Roe overturned, an analysis of polls reveals a public lack of knowledge about what Roe does, as well as conflicting numbers between support for Roe and public opinion on abortion.
While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to hold a vote next week to codify Roe v. Wade, the vote is almost certain to fail as it is unlikely Democrats can garner the 60 votes needed to advance such a measure.
“A vote on this legislation is not an abstract exercise. This is as urgent and real as it gets. We’ll vote to protect a women’s right to choose,” Schumer said, according to The Hill.
Klobuchar suggested that if the vote fails, Democrats will take the matter “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.
