Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Tuesday said the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would strike down Roe v. Wade is a “shocker” and might imperil Americans’ rights to contraception and same-sex marriage.
In an interview on CBS, Klobuchar (D-Minn.) accused the justices of “inserting their own political judgment” into the initial draft majority opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, which was reported by POLITICO on Monday.
“What basically the court would be doing would be overturning 50 years of precedents — something that has been on the books, that women have relied on, that 75 to 80 percent of the public support and says should not be overturned,” Klobuchar said.
In the draft opinion, Alito argues in favor of overturning Roe, writing that the landmark 1973 ruling invented a right not mentioned in the Constitution. “The inescapable conclusion is that a right to abortion is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and traditions,” Alito writes.
Criticizing Alito’s reasoning on Tuesday, Klobuchar said: “Birth control is not in the Constitution. … The term gay marriage is not in the Constitution. The court has interpreted the Constitution to protect these rights for Americans. So that is why this is such a big deal.”
Klobuchar warned that overturning Roe would leave the issue of abortion rights up to politicians and create a patchwork of different laws across states. She also said Congress needs to act to enshrine Roe through legislation before the court moves to strike it down.
“Most women say, ‘I would rather have this be a decision between me, my family and my doctor. My doctor. I want this to be a decision between me and my doctor. Not Ted Cruz.’ OK?” Klobuchar said. “But that is exactly what the court will be doing by handing it back to elected officials all over the country.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has previously expressed opposition to abortion rights even in cases of rape. On Monday, he tweeted that if POLITICO’s report on the draft opinion “is true, this is nothing short of a massive victory for life and will save the lives of millions of innocent babies.”