Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden vowed on Monday night that if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned by the Supreme Court, he would ensure that it would remain the law of the land through the legislature.
This plan to protect abortion rights was prompted by a question at a town hall event in Miami, Florida. A woman by the name of Cassidy Brown explained that having access to birth control and reproductive health care ensured that she was able to pursue her college degree and her career before starting a family.
“Considering the new Supreme Court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, what are your particular plans to protect women’s reproductive rights in the U.S.?” Brown asked.
“Number one, we don’t know exactly what she will do,” Biden began, “although the expectation is that she may very well move to overrule Roe.”
“The only responsible response to that,” he said, “would be to pass legislation making Roe the law of the land. That’s what I would do.”
Biden posted the video to his Twitter, declaring, “Roe v. Wade must remain the law of the land.”
Roe v. Wade has been a focus of the upcoming presidential election since the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and President Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to fill the empty seat.
While Ginsburg was a dedicated advocate of women’s reproductive rights, the general assumption on both the left and the right is that Justice Barrett would rule against Roe v. Wade if provided the opportunity.
In 2006, Barrett signed her name to a newspaper ad taken out by the St. Joseph County Right to Life which called for “an end to the barbaric legacy of Roe v. Wade.”
On the other hand, Barrett has also stated on a couple of separate occasions that she doesn’t believe Roe v. Wade will be overturned. “The fundamental element, that the woman has a right to choose abortion, will probably stand,” she said in 2013.
Sitting Supreme Court Justices have been bolder in their opinions on Roe, such as Justice Clarence Thomas, who recently wrote in a dissent, “Our abortion precedents are grievously wrong and should be overruled. The idea that the Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment understood the Due Process Clause to protect a right to abortion is farcical.”
If Barrett is confirmed, the Supreme Court would have a 6-3 conservative majority for the first time since the 1930s. This gives the left concern as they look at how laws relating to sexual orientation, health care, and abortion rights might be impacted.
President Trump responded to Biden’s comments with his own statement via Twitter, saying that Biden’s position was “more Liberal” than “Elizabeth Warren at her highest.”
Discussion about this post