The Supreme Court is hearing the most significant abortion case in decades, and the far left is terrified.
As they should be. The Associated Press noted that the court’s conservative majority “signaled they would allow states to ban abortion much earlier in pregnancy and may even overturn [Roe v. Wade].”
The usual suspects are freaking out, threatening the court, and questioning its legitimacy.
“Out of 9 justices, 3 were appointed by a man who tried to overthrow the US government (& elected via minority). Those 3 will decide whether the US will legalize forcing people to give birth against their will,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Wednesday. “Legitimacy requires consent of the governed. They are dismantling it.”
“We’re not even in a democracy if women can’t make decisions about their own bodies,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said.
Whatever that means.
“I hope the Supreme Court is listening to the people of the United States,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). “I think if you want to see a revolution go ahead, outlaw Roe v. Wade and see what the response is of the public, particularly young people. Because I think that will not be acceptable to young women or young men.”
Indeed, Americans generally support the right to abortion. But that support is far more nuanced than blanket support for all abortions at any point during pregnancy under any circumstance. The radical left sees abortion as a sacred cow that can’t be restricted, even the slightest way. They believe abortions should be free, that minors should be able to seek an abortion without parental consent, and abortion should be accessible up until the moment of birth. However, more Americans view it more like a necessary evil, something that should be legal but restricted. In my lifetime, abortion being “safe, legal, and rare” was a mainstream position of the Democratic Party, but no more.
“Six in 10 U.S. adults think abortion should generally be legal in the first three months of pregnancy,” explains Gallup. “However, support drops by about half, to 28%, for abortions conducted in the second three months, and by half again, to 13%, in the final three months.”
“This conforms with the actual rate of abortions in the U.S. by trimester,” Gallup observed. “According to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks abortion statistics, late-trimester abortions are rare — only 1.3% are conducted later than 20 weeks, whereas 89% are performed within the first 12 weeks.”
The Mississippi law at the center of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which means that the law is as mainstream as it gets on abortion.
If the Supreme Court’s role was to “listen to the people,” as Senator Shaheen says, then they will uphold Dobbs v. Jackson. But, of course, it’s not their job to do what’s popular; they’re supposed to rule on its constitutionality.
Shaheen clearly isn’t familiar with polling on abortion rights if she thinks that upholding Dobbs v. Jackson will cause “a revolution.” Americans generally believe that abortion should be legal but rare and restricted to early pregnancy. Americans’ views on this have been consistent since Gallup first started polling on this in 1996.
I don’t know what the Supreme Court will ultimately do. Despite the so-called conservative majority on the court, there have been plenty of disappointing rulings recently. So I won’t make any predictions on that. But I can say that Democrats in Congress are way out of the mainstream on this, and should the court uphold Dobbs v. Jackson, they will have a rude awakening about how Americans really feel about abortion restrictions.