Majority of Americans disapprove of Supreme Court’s abortion ruling in new poll
The future of abortion rights dominated the national political conversation over the weekend, with a new poll showing more than half of Americans disapproved of Roe v. Wade being overturned.
The anti-abortion ruling by the Supreme Court met with disapproval from 59% of those responding to a CBS News/YouGov poll, while 41% approved.
“Women are not second-class citizens,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on ABC’s “This Week.” “And the government is not the one that [should] decide about the continuation of a pregnancy.”
Abortion rights activists protest outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, June 24, 2022. (Jose Luis Magana/)
The Massachusetts Democrat voiced alarm over the prospect of the conservative-controlled Supreme Court taking aim at further freedoms after ruling on Friday that abortion is not a constitutional right.
Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion called for the court to “reconsider” previous rulings protecting the right to contraception and same-sex marriage.
“I am deeply concerned about that,” Warren said, calling for immediate responses such as helping women who need abortions but who live in states that newly ban the medical practice.
Senator Elizabeth Warren addresses the public during a rally to protest the US Supreme Courts overturning of Roe Vs. Wade at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on June 24, 2022. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/)
The former presidential candidate said she supported an idea floated by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who suggested opening abortion clinics on federal land.
Ocasio-Cortez blasted the Supreme Court justices who appeared to voice support for Roe v. Wade during their Senate confirmation hearings but then voted to overturn it.
“If we allow Supreme Court nominees to lie … under oath and secure lifetime appointments to the highest court of the land and then issue, issue without basis … rulings that deeply undermine the human and civil rights of the majority of Americans, we must see that through,” the New York Democrat said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks during a protest in Union Square in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade on Friday, June 24, 2022 in Manhattan. (Barry Williams/)
“There must be consequences for such a deeply destabilizing action and a hostile takeover of our democratic institutions,” she said. “I believe lying under oath is an impeachable offense.”
She also slammed Thomas for “violating federal law in not disclosing income from political organizations,” among other accusations.
Conservatives, meanwhile, celebrated the anti-abortion ruling but drew back from saying women should be punished in the numerous states where abortion is now illegal in almost all cases.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during the NRA annual convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center on May 27, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (BRANDON BELL/)
“I don’t believe there should be any punishment for women ever that are in a crisis situation or have an unplanned pregnancy,” South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem told “This Week.”
Her state was one of 13 that had so-called trigger laws that made abortion illegal with the overturning of Roe.
“This was wonderful news in the defense of life. Every life is precious,” Noem said.
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson called for criminal penalties for abortion providers but said his state of Arkansas would not prosecute women for seeking the procedure.
“This is a day that those in the pro-life movement have worked for for over 40 years. I didn’t think it would come this quickly,” he said on “Meet the Press.”
“The decision of the Supreme Court was really something that will save lives,” Hutchinson said.
