Some of Minnesota’s most prominent Democrats are vowing to fight back against a recent Supreme Court decision that presumably endangers Roe v. Wade.
Their reaction stems from the court’s decision to uphold Texas’ new “heartbeat law,” which prohibits all abortion after six weeks, no exceptions. The high court’s 5-4 failure to block the law — Chief Justice John Roberts joined the liberals — allows Texas to criminally punish anyone who provides, procures, or otherwise assists in an illegal abortion.
“We must put Roe into law now,” demanded Sen. Amy Klobuchar. “There is no time to lose.”
“I used to work at Planned Parenthood, not blind to what’s happening here,” said Sen. Tina Smith. “This law is not just unconstitutional — it’s a direct attack on Roe. And we are going to fight it.”
Then, in an unhinged thread Thursday night, she called for abolishing the filibuster and packing the court while accusing Republicans of stealing “two Supreme Court seats.”
“This is the culmination of a 40 year effort by Republicans to radically remake the courts with the help of dark money and the Federalist Society. They’ve succeeded, and Roe is their white whale,” claimed Smith, a former Planned Parenthood executive.
So we’re going to fight. But I want to be clear that there is not a magical lever of power we could pull but are avoiding. We can tweet and send out press releases stating our positions as much as we like, but that’s not a strategy.
— Senator Tina Smith (@SenTinaSmith) September 2, 2021
Other Democratic congresswomen like Reps. Betty McCollum and Angie Craig weighed in, respectively calling the court’s decision “chilling” and lamenting the effective loss of a “woman’s right to choose in one of the largest states in America.”
Even Rep. Dean Phillips and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz joined the chorus.
“Just as the Supreme Court has affirmed Americans’ right to bear arms, it has affirmed women’s rights to make decisions about their own bodies,” said Phillips. “I’m appalled by yesterday’s SCOTUS action, and am joining with like-minded colleagues to protect women from illegal government overreach.”
“What’s happening in Texas is a blatant violation of a woman’s right to choose. I will never allow that to happen here in Minnesota,” declared Gov. Walz.
Walz’s lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, pulled the race card in a tweet that said protecting Roe v. Wade “is about racial and economic justice.”
“We will not stop fighting until we all get access to that fundamental right,” she added.
It is worth noting that Roe v. Wade is simply a legal precedent the Supreme Court is not strictly obligated to follow. Justice Clarence Thomas has even openly supported a reversal of Roe v. Wade in the recent past. In a dissenting opinion on the June Medical Services v. Russo case in 2020, he called the Supreme Court’s abortion precedents “grievously wrong” and said they “should be overruled.”
Evan Stambaugh
Evan Stambaugh is a freelance writer who had previously been a sports blogger. He has a BA in theology and an MA in philosophy.
