Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) called on the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to overturn the infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade case legalizing abortion in a brief signed on by 10 other Republican governors, in hopes to make abortion a state issue.
The brief provides arguments for why abortion should be left to the states by citing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and for how the brief says abortion is not protected by the amendment.
“A review of the legal landscape from the late nineteenth century leads to the same conclusion that the Due Process Clause does not create or protect a right to abortion,” the brief states. “Between the statutes cited by then-Justice Rehnquist in Roe and Justice Thomas in June Medical, at least thirty six States (some of which were still territories or, in the case of Hawaii, not yet even part of the United States) had statutes that limited, if not completely outlawed, abortion when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified.”
Citing court cases throughout the brief, the governors argued the “de-constitutionalizing” of the abortion issue could lower the tensions between pro-life and pro-abortion groups as states would have the right to legislate abortion as individual states.
“Second, de-constitutionalizing abortion should lower the proverbial temperature in these debates,” it said. “No longer would abortion define the confirmation process for Justices. No longer would the issue dominate presidential campaigns. America is ‘a heterogeneous society,’ Ariz. State Legislature v. Ariz. Indep. Redistricting Comm’n, 576 U.S. 787, 817 (2015), and allowing decisions about abortion regulations to be made at the State level better allows those differing voices to be heard and to shape policy.”
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried criticized DeSantis for joining the other governors saying she will “fight like h*ll to stop this.”
After suppressing voting rights and criminalizing protests, @GovRonDeSantis wants to overturn Roe v. Wade.
I’m the only one running for governor who's never wavered in support of our right to chose.
I'll fight like hell to stop this. https://t.co/BJlthGtxbE
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) July 29, 2021
“After suppressing voting rights and criminalizing protests, @GovRonDeSantis wants to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Fried said on Twitter. “I’m the only one running for governor who’s never wavered in support of our right to chose [sic]. I’ll fight like h*ll to stop this.”
SCOTUS is scheduled to hear a challenge to Roe sometime in the fall from the State of Mississippi, and DeSantis spokesperson Christina Pushaw said DeSantis is consistent in his pro-life policy.
“Governor DeSantis believes in the sanctity of life and protection of the unborn,” Pushaw said.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
