Is Pence right?
Addressing a crowd at the National Pro-life Summit on Saturday (January 22), Former Vice President Mike Pence revealed he was confident that the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade because of the recently appointed conservative justices.
During his speech, Pence predicted the Supreme Court would dismantle the milestone abortion case, saying that, following the verdict, the “next battlefield for life will emerge” in the state legislature. He also encouraged the many students and grassroots activists present saying, “your generation must lead and fight for life in every state.”
At the Washington D.C. event, Pence called participants to prepare their minds “for action” as there was “a real prospect of a post-Roe America.”
Pence’s remarks come on the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. But, with the addition of three conservative appointees –– Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch –– and a potential precedent-setting abortion case before the justices, anti-abortion activists want to see the Roe decision overturned.
If the court overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, two cases instrumental in preventing states from banning abortion at specific stages during pregnancy, abortion resolution would be left up to the states. With states eyeing this possibility, red states have put in place “trigger laws” that would go into effect immediately following the overturning of Roe. However, blue and purple states will have to battle political pressure to keep laws less restrictive.
With the stakes so high, anti-abortion activists have descended on Washington D.C. this week to participate in Friday’s March for Life and Saturday’s summit, where Pence mentioned that Trump’s administration had been the “most pro-life administration in the history of the United States” touting the former President’s administration as the reason more than 300 conservatives have been appointed to federal courts.
Then, Pence called for anti-abortion activists to “pray that conservatives on our Supreme Court will have the courage of their convictions,” before thanking activists for working hard to end abortion, adding that “the pro-life generation has never been stronger. And, thanks to all of you, life is winning in America again.”
According to a Fox News poll conducted on the eve of the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, 31% of participants would like the landmark abortion case overturned, and increase to 28% in September. Support for the abortion ruling has also dwindled, with only 63% of participants wanting the case to stand, down from 65% in September.
