OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former Vice President Mike Pence tore a strip of his successor, current Vice President Kamala Harris, over recent comments she made regarding the leaked Supreme Court draft of its possible decision to end Roe V Wade.
During a speech on Tuesday Harris took aim at Republicans, blaming them for what the Supreme Court decision, if it stands, is, Business Insider reported.
“Those Republicans leaders who are trying to weaponize the use of the law against women — how dare they?” she said. “How dare they tell a woman what she can do and cannot do with her own body? How dare they? How dare they try to stop her from determining her own future? How dare they try to deny women their rights and their freedoms?”
But Pence, an ardent pro-life supporter, took umbrage with her comments and said that, since Roe V Wade was decided, “62 million unborn boys and girls ended in abortion.”
“Since 1973, generations of mothers enduring heartbreaking and loss that can last a lifetime. Madame Vice President, how dare you?” he said at an event for the Carolina Pregnancy Center.
“My hope, and frankly my prayer, is that those five justices on the Supreme Court have the courage of their convictions and will give us a fresh start on life in America,” he said as the decision has not been finalized.
He decried the leak of the draft and encouraged others who are pro-life to continue praying.
“We must remain steadfast,” the former vice president said. The decision is not final. So I want to encourage you to keep praying.”
“No matter what happens in the coming weeks, the pro-abortion left will not succeed. The Supreme Court of the United States will not be intimidated and we will never stop fighting for the sanctity of life,” he said.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas shared the former vice president’s sentiment that the court cannot be intimidated.
The Associate Justice, who appeared on the majority in ending Roe V Wade, spoke at a judicial conference on Friday and said that the court cannot be “bullied” into doing what certain people want them to do, Reuters reported.
The Justice warned that as a society, “we are becoming addicted to wanting particular outcomes, not living with the outcomes we don’t like.”
“We can’t be an institution that can be bullied into giving you just the outcomes you want. The events from earlier this week are a symptom of that,” he said.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who spoke at the same conference said that the leak “absolutely appalling” and said that it would not effect the final decision.
“A leak of this stature is absolutely appalling,” he said. “If the person behind it thinks that it will affect our work, that’s just foolish.”
On Tuesday the Chief Justice confirmed in a press release that the leaked draft published by Politico was authentic and that he has instructed the court’s Marshal to take action.
“Yesterday, a news organization published a copy of a draft opinion in a pending case. Justices circulate draft opinions internally as a routine and essential part of the Court’s confidential deliberative work. Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case,” the press release said.
“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way,” the Chief Justice said.
“We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce – permanent employees and law clerks alike – intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law. Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court. This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here,” he argued.
“I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak,” he said.
