Rep. Jayapal decries SCOTUS draft opinion, declares Roe v. Wade 'settled law'
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., stated that Roe v. Wade was settled law and that the Supreme Court didn't have the authority to overturn it.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., insisted on Tuesday that the Supreme Court does not have the right to overturn Roe v. Wade.
On Monday night, Politico reported an early draft opinion from the Supreme Court that overturned the 1973 landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade. Since then, Democrats and their allies in the media have decried this potential ruling.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal speaks during a House Judiciary Committee markup in Rayburn Building on Nov. 17, 2021. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Jayapal emphasized the "terror," "fear," "disgust," and "outrage" she feels over the draft opinion and its "rebuke of precedent."
"This is a stunning, stunning rebuke of precedent and of the fundamental freedom that women have to make choices about our own bodies and our own futures and our own economic security," Jayapal said on "CNN's Newsroom."
While several argued that this draft opinion represents a sense of "fascism" in the court, Jayapal argued that the Supreme Court doesn’t even have the right to overturn Roe v. Wade as "settled law."
"These justices are acting like this is somehow something that they have the right to change. They do not have the right to change this which has been settled law for two generations now of people who have grown up and have gone through their twenties in the firm belief that they can make these decisions about their own bodies," Jayapal said.
People gather outside the Supreme Court, Monday night, May 2, 2022, in Washington following reports of a leaked draft opinion by the court overturning Roe v. Wade. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)
The progressive lawmaker also criticized the "radicalization" of the court and claimed that this potential decision could allow the justices to overturn other examples of "settled law."
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"The only thing that has changed is the makeup of the Supreme Court, the radicalization of the Supreme Court. And if they can do this for this issue, it means that they can ignore precedent for every other issue that we have considered settled law. So we cannot accept it. I don’t think people across this country are going to accept it, and of course, we have to now work extra hard to codify Roe v. Wade in the United States Congress," she said.
She continued with criticism against President Biden for refusing to call for an end to the filibuster that would allow congressional Democrats to pass a law that would ensure nationwide access to abortions.
Pro-life and pro-choice demonstrators during a protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. (Getty Images)
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The Supreme Court's official ruling regarding Roe v. Wade is not expected until June. Although the draft opinion suggested enough votes to overturn the ruling, several analysts have noted that the opinion as well as the ruling could have since been revised or rewritten.
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