Donald Trump Takes Credit For Overturning Roe V. Wade In CNN Town Hall
In June of 2022, The United States Supreme Court overturned landmark ruling Roe V. Wade, which had guaranteed the right to abortion, among rights to other medical privacies, to the American public since 1973. Immediately following the ruling, several states across the country began restricting access to abortion services and passing bans. Since Roe was overturned, access to abortion has been restricted in some fashion in nearly half of the country's fifty states, and most abortions have been fully banned in 14 states (via The New York Times).
These controversial decisions have been praised widely by conservative lawmakers and voters, while they have been protested and fought against by those who align themselves with more liberal political ideology. Those for the bans and restrictions celebrate what they see as a right to life and a win for Christian values, while those against raise concerns about rights to bodily autonomy and restricted access to necessary medical care during dangerous miscarriages.
Now, former president and current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has weighed in on the subject directly.
Why Trump claims credit for the overturning of Roe
During his time as President, Trump nominated three Supreme Court justices, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, whose confirmation was rushed through during the last weeks before the 2020 election after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg (via CNBC).
On Friday, Trump said in a statement that the overturning of Roe v. Wade was "only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constitutionalists confirmed to the United States Supreme Court." He went on to call the overturning of Roe "the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation."
And at a CNN town hall on Wednesday in New Hampshire, Trump stated, "I am honored to have done what I did," referring to his hand in overturning federal protection for abortion rights (via CNN). Politically, it makes sense for him to align himself with the Supreme Court decision as closely as possible, as Trump's base is very much anti-abortion and are paying close attention to his current bid for the White House.
Supreme court justices accused of lying
Still, aligning himself with the overturning of Roe and his appointment of Supreme Court justices Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch could be seen as controversial, considering that these justices have been accused of lying under oath about their intentions for Roe v. Wade during their confirmation hearings (via Forbes).
While technically none of the three justices appointed by Trump promised not to overturn Roe v. Wade if given their seats on the judicial body, they did say the following things. Justice Neil Gorsuch, "a good judge will consider [Roe] as precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court worthy as treatment of precedent like any other." He also said that once a precedent has been set, the court "moves forward," meaning that the court does not go back to reconsider precedents.
Brett Kavanaugh said that as a court justice, he would "not get to pick and choose which Supreme Court precedents I get to follow" and that he "follow[s] them all." He also called Roe an "important precedent" that had been "reaffirmed many times."
And Amy Coney Barrett, the last of these justices to be nominated and confirmed, said that even though she didn't believe Roe was a "super precedent," that "that does not mean that Roe should be overruled."