Hawley says Democratic rhetoric amid SCOTUS abortion hearing ‘really dangerous’
Supreme Court hears arguments in Mississippi abortion case
March for Life president Jeanne Mancini is ‘hopeful’ the high court will uphold the state law to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley condemned Democratic comments as “really dangerous” as the Supreme Court prepares to review the precedent set for abortion rights under Roe v. Wade.
“We’re seeing a predictable ramp-up already in rhetoric from Democrats, including Democratic senators about how it will be a revolution if the court overturns Roe,” he told Fox News. “This is really inappropriate and dangerous rhetoric.”
“Really dangerous,” he added.
Sen. Josh Hawley, (R-MO) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine Texas’s abortion law on Capitol Hill on September 29, 2021 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)
The senator’s comments were in response to a prediction made by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who said there would be a “revolution” if the high court repealed the 1973 landmark decision made in Roe v. Wade.
“I hope the Supreme Court is listening to the people of the United States,” Shaheen said Monday. “I think if you want to see a revolution go ahead, outlaw Roe v. Wade and see what the response is of the public, particularly young people.
“Because I think that will not be acceptable to young women or young men,” she added.
Fox News could not immediately reach Shaheen for comment, but tough questioning by certain justices on the Supreme Court Wednesday in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health could spell trouble for proponents of Roe v. Wade.
The 1973 decision made its way back to the Supreme Court this week when the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy was contested.
Democrats have long argued that the near 50-year precedent established under Roe v. Wade federally secures a women’s right to access an abortion and should not be reversed.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh pushed back on the argument for stare decisis — the principle that the court should stick to its past rulings — and suggested some of the nation’s most significant cases were repeals.
“If you think about some of the most important cases in this court’s history … there’s a string of them where the cases overruled precedent,” Kavanaugh said, referring to cases like Brown v. Board of Education and Miranda v. Arizona.
Justice Stephen Beyer contested this line of reasoning, chopping it up to overly simplifying complex factors that should be considered in a women’s right to choose.
But Kavanaugh’s questioning left Republicans feeling emboldened that the high court may not only support the constitutionality of the 2018 Mississippi law, but overturn Roe v. Wade altogether.
“There seems to be a majority of justices who are ready to uphold Mississippi’s law,” Hawley told Fox News. “I think that in of itself is quite significant.”
“I think there’s a distinct possibility now that the court will overturn Roe,” he added.
Democrats have argued the court does not accurately reflect the sentiments of the American public, as it seats six Republican-appointed justices and only three Democratic-appointed justices.
Progressives on the Hill have vowed to take action in an attempt to balance the court — though it remains unlikely they would have the votes in the Senate to make real change.
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Pro-abortion rights activist Alicia Hurt holds a placard during a protest outside the Supreme Court building, ahead of arguments in the Mississippi abortion rights case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, in Washington, Dec. 1, 2021.
(REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
“I think the people of all the states would like to be able to say that, ‘Hey, I’d like to have a voice in this,’ and the people haven’t had a voice in 50 years,” Hawley said in answer to whether he thought the majority of Americans supported overturning Roe v. Wade.
“I think returning this issue to the people, which is the Constitutional thing to do … is the right thing and is also something that I think the public would support,” he added.
The Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision regarding the constitutionality of the Mississippi law by summer 2022.
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