With the election of Donald Trump, there has been a lot of talk about the future of abortion in the United States.
Trump promised to appoint “pro-life” justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who potentially could overturn Roe v. Wade and return the power to regulate abortions back to the states.
Pro-abortion lawyer Sarah Weddington, made famous by arguing Roe v. Wade in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, said she believes Trump’s presidency eventually could lead to an end to legalized abortion.
She told the Guardian: “States can’t make abortion illegal. But some have been passing laws that make it much less available, for instance by saying that no abortion can be done except in a facility that meets the requirements for emergency care. In other words, they make the cost of abortion much higher. A lot of women are already crossing state lines, and in that sense, a lot of what is happening is just like it was before Roe v Wade was decided.
“… If [Neil] Gorsuch’s nomination is approved, will abortion be illegal the next day? No. One new judge won’t necessarily make much difference. But two or three might.”
Gorsuch is Trump’s nominee to replace conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Many pro-life groups have praised Trump for the pick. He currently is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
While Gorsuch has not made many decisions about abortion in his role as a judge, many pro-lifers believe his writings and decisions about religious freedom and assisted suicide are encouraging signs. Gorsuch also sided with pro-life Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood.
Even with Gorsuch’s confirmation, the Supreme Court still would have a pro-abortion majority; but abortion advocates are worried that several other seats could come open on the court during Trump’s presidency.
“You’ve got one vacancy now on the Supreme Court. But Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is helping to keep abortion available, is 83, and there are a couple of older male judges too,” Weddington said.
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During the interview, Weddington also repeated the false claim that Planned Parenthood does mammograms – something even liberal fact checkers agree is completely untrue.
She told the reporter: “The federal government has never given money to Planned Parenthood for abortion. It gives money to it for the provision of contraception and well woman care: for the treatment of venereal disease, mammograms, and so on.” The Guardian, however, did not bother to fact check Weddington on this.
In a February interview with CBN News’ David Brody, Trump said he thinks Roe v. Wade was “wrongly decided.”
David Brody: “But beyond judges, do you believe Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided back in the day, back in 1973?”
Donald Trump: ‘Well I do. It’s been very strongly decided but it can be changed. Things are put there and they’re passed but they can be unpassed with time but it’s going to take time because you have a lot of judges to go.”
Previously, Trump issued an op-ed condemning Roe v. Wade but stopped short of saying it should be reversed.
