OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Republicans across the country are taking action on abortion laws ahead of the looming decision from the U.S. Supreme Court.
CNN published a story titled, “Why the Republican offensive on abortion is escalating,” where the author fretted that Republicans are passing a slew of anti-abortion laws in many states ahead of the looming decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade.
“When three red states finalized severe restrictions on abortion over consecutive days last week, they highlighted the GOP’s rising militancy on the issue — and the political and legal calculations underpinning it,” the report began.
“Separate actions last week in Oklahoma, Florida, and Kentucky made clear the red state drive to retrench or eliminate, access to abortion is escalating as the Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority nears a decision, expected in late June, in which it is widely anticipated to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a nationwide right to abortion,” it added.
“The abortion restrictions these states approved last week all denied exceptions for victims of rape or incest — a provision that was once a common feature of conservative anti-abortion proposals but has been jettisoned almost completely in the wave of new restrictions approved since 2021. The Oklahoma legislation banned nearly all abortions from the moment of conception and imposed severe penalties on doctors who perform them, including up to 10 years in jail. The Kentucky bill, continuing an offensive already underway in several other red states, prohibited state residents from obtaining medication abortion through the mail, as the federal Food and Drug Administration authorized late last year,” the CNN report continued.
“We are seeing this pattern because the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has signaled that it is ready to reverse Roe. Now, we are getting a sense of what red states really want to do when Roe is gone. That is why we are seeing bans from fertilization — as in Oklahoma — and laws that focus on abortion pills, which will be crucial in determining whether bans will be effective,” the report stated.
Tennessee Republicans have introduced an anti-abortion measure that appears similar to the legislation currently enacted in Texas.
In Virginia, Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares is calling on the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade.
Virginia joined 21 other states in urging the justices to invalidate Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and reaffirm the core holding of the court’s 1973 decision in Roe.
Earlier this year, Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley argued that Roe v. Wade is the greatest injustice of our lifetime and that the Supreme Court has an opportunity to correct it.
During an interview with Breitbart, Hawley said that after the first day of oral arguments that Roe v. Wade is “very much in play.”
Hawley explained, “It would mean the reaching of a landmark goal that I mean, frankly, I have to say just personally, that Roe is one of the reasons that the major reason that I went into politics, and I think that’s true for many, many other people. That’s one of the major reasons I was interested in the law. And this is the greatest injustice of our lifetimes.”
Hawley said, “I just have to say that someone who believes that that row is one of the worst decisions ever handed down by the Supreme Court, I think it would be a monumental moral landmark and reverse a great injustice.”
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing a Mississippi law that would ban nearly all abortions after 15 weeks.
Justice Clarence Thomas made it clear back in December with his line of questioning that he supported overturning Roe v Wade.
Thomas has long been a target of liberal pro-abortion activists, especially given he’s arguably one of the most pro-life justices to ever sit on the bench.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh might be the deciding votes on the case.
Roberts and Kavanaugh might be looking at a “middle ground,” where they may not support completely reversing Roe v Wade.
