What conservative justices said — and didn't say — about Roe at their

For decades, nominees to the Supreme Court have had to answer questions about Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling guaranteeing the right to abortion in the U. S., which now appears to be on the brink of being overturned. That includes the five conservative justices who are reportedly prepared to overturn Roe this summer, according to a draft majority opinion published Monday by Politico. Now, some of those justices are being accused of lying in their confirmation hearings — including by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who both criticized the draft in a scathing statement late Monday."Several of these conservative Justices, who are in no way accountable to the American people, have lied to the U. S. Senate," the two Democratic leaders wrote, calling the reported decision to overturn Roe "an abomination, one of the worst and most damaging decisions in modern history."The draft, whose authenticity has since been verified by the court, was authored by Justice Samuel Alito. Politico reported that he would be joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Politico did not report how Chief Justice John Roberts plans to vote. As nominees, those justices consistently avoided direct statements about Roe, including whether they'd vote to overturn it. Instead, they often commented on the importance of precedent and constitutional guarantees to privacy. Here's what each of the court's five conservative justices who are reportedly prepared to overturn Roe said about the case at their confirmation hearings:"Roe was egregiously wrong from the start," Alito writes in the draft opinion. Alito came to his nomination by President George W. Bush with years of experience as a federal judge. In his judicial career, he ruled several times on cases related to abortions, typically in favor of restricting them. During his confirmation hearing, which took place in January 2006, Alito declined to say much directly about Roe. He called it an "important precedent of the Supreme Court" but stopped short of calling it settled law."Roe v. Wade is an important precedent of the Supreme Court. It was decided in 1973, so it has been on the books for a long time," he said. "It is a precedent that has now been on the books for several decades. It has been challenged. It has been reaffirmed. But it is an issue that is involved in litigation now at all levels."Pressed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on whether the issue of Roe had been settled by the court, Alito again refused to answer directly."It would be wrong for me to say to anybody who might be bringing any case before my court, 'If you bring your case before my court, I'm not even going to listen to you. I've made up my mind on this issue. I'm not going to read your brief. I'm not going to listen to your argument. I'm not going to discuss the issue with my colleagues. Go away — I've made up my mind,' " he said. All data is taken from the source: http://npr.org Article Link: https://www.npr.org/2022/05/03/109610... #roe #newsamerican#newstodayheadlines #newsworldbbc #newsworldwide #newsworld #