The son of former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Christopher, Scalia joined in the Fox News meme of pretending that the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade is no biggie.
Before getting to Christopher Scalia, host Neil Cavuto suggested that, despite the leaked draft opinion stating that Roe “must be overruled,” maybe the court isn’t really about to overturn Roe. “It really depends on how you interpret that and whether that really is what’s in this draft opinion,” Cavuto said.
Cavuto kissed up to Scalia: “You know, your dad was such a gifted writer and by the way, you’re no slouch in that department yourself.”
Cavuto set the stage for the “no biggie” talking points by “asking” if Justice Scalia thought it best if abortion were “not left with the court” to decide. Never mind that Republicans are already looking to enact a nationwide ban on abortion.
Scalia claimed that overturning Roe “would actually be good for democracy.” Ignoring how the Supreme Court is about to remove a right that has been in place for almost 50 years, he added, “I know a lot of Democrats are saying otherwise, that this deals a terrible blow for democracy, but that’s not the case at all. This issue belongs in the hands of the people, not the justices.”
Except the justices are poised to take away an important right, one that is supported by a majority of Americans (by a roughly 2-1 margin), and put it in the hands of at least 18 states run by Republicans who, ignoring the majority’s views, will ban abortion once the Supreme Court’s decision becomes official.
But Scalia continued with his “we’re just making it democratic” BS: “So if this is the end result, I think my father obviously would have been very pleased with it. Overturning Roe does not mean banning abortion across America, as many people seem to believe. It means that people actually get to vote on the issue, which is how it should be.”
Cavuto timidly noted that if “the draft becomes the reality, the fear among those who are pro-choice, as you know, as your father probably knew, that it could move a number of states to ban it outright and that could be a problem itself.” It’s not that overturning Roe could move those states, we already know it will. Already, about 58% of American women of reproductive age, 40 miilion, live in states that are hostile to abortion.
“The judges can’t really worry about that,” Scalia said. “They need to be focused on the jurisprudence of the decision.”
Cavuto lent his support. He claimed that the Supreme Court "often has gone against precedent," thus pooh-poohing “this idea that the court never, never goes against precedent."
But the Supreme Court has never before removed an existing, established constitutional right.
This episode fits into the Fox pattern of downplaying the effects of overturning Roe v. Wade. You can watch it below, from the May 7, 2022 Cavuto Live.
Almost immediately after taking over, the Taliban barred Afgan women from working, from going to school beyond 6th grade, from being caught outside the home without a male relative, from appearing on entertainment shows of all kinds, and from a whole slew of other things that they’d been able to experience for a couple of decades (at least in the cities). Last week’s decree requiring all women to cover themselves from head to toe (the burqa) is icing on the cake. And it will probably be effective because any woman who may protest will do so at risk of sending her father, husband or brother to jail. Namely the only legally authorised breadwinner for her and her children. Can’t get any more cruel than that.
Although Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” was not intended to be a prediction of a possible future, it’s looking more and more like a forecast. Time for women all over the world to rise up and raise holy hell!
