Former President Donald Trump looks to have pulled a Babe Ruth, calling a home run, so to speak, in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
And he did it all the way back in a presidential debate in October 2016.
Moderator Chris Wallace asked then-Republican nominee Trump, “Do you want to see the court overturn Roe v. Wade?”
“Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that’s really what’s going to be — that will happen,” Trump said.
“And that will happen automatically, in my opinion, because I am putting pro-life justices on the court,” he said.
The Republican added, “I will say this: It will go back to the states, and the states will then make a determination.”
That’s some pretty good prophesying, looking back from the year 2022.
Trump predicted he would be appointing “two or perhaps three justices” to the Supreme Court and Roe would be overturned.
He did appoint three justices who appear to be pro-life: Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and Amy Coney Barrett in the closing months of his term in 2020.
Trump was also right about a pro-life case also making it to SCOTUS, the ramifications of which would be to end Roe.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization regarding a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks is just such a case.
The central holding of Roe and the subsequent Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision in 1992 is that states may not prevent women from obtaining an abortion during the first trimester of the pregnancy, i.e., 12 weeks.
In the second trimester — 14 to 26 weeks — states can impose regulations reasonably related to protecting the health of the pregnant woman.
Finally, in the third trimester, states can weigh the interest in protecting the life of the unborn child, as he or she reaches viability outside the womb, against the woman’s “right” to an abortion.
The structure was made up out of whole cloth in terms of the Constitution, which is silent on the matter of abortion.
The justices relied on a “right to privacy” they found in the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and 14th Amendments.
Never mind that the right to life is explicitly guaranteed by the Fifth and 14th Amendments.
Justice Samuel Alito — in his draft majority opinion in the Dobbs case written in February and leaked to Politico — noted the lack of constitutional ground on which Roe was built.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote.
Politico reported, based on a “person familiar with the court’s deliberations,” that the four other justices joining Alito in his majority opinion are Clarence Thomas as well as the three appointed by Trump: Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett.
Multiple Christian leaders — including the Rev. Franklin Graham, the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins and Concerned Women for America’s Penny Nance — recognized Trump’s strong record on pro-life judges in 2019 interviews with The Western Journal.
“The record is pretty clear on the life issue. [Trump] has been, arguably, the most pro-life president since Roe v. Wade,” Perkins said.
Trump was the first sitting president to address the annual March for Life in January 2020.
The first march occurred in January 1974 on the first anniversary of the Roe decision and has taken place every year since.
President @realDonaldTrump: "It is my profound honor to be the first president in history to attend the #MarchforLife." https://t.co/h4bRiB7RlP pic.twitter.com/mkJxdFkSuW
— The Hill (@thehill) January 24, 2020
“We’re here for a very simple reason: to defend the right of every child, born and unborn, to fulfill their God-given potential,” Trump said.
“All of us here today understand an eternal truth: Every child is a precious and sacred gift from God,” the 45th president added.
“When we see the image of a baby in the womb, we glimpse the majesty of God’s creation.”
He noted that many in the audience were high school and college students from around the country.
“It’s your generation that is making America the pro-family, pro-life nation,” Trump said.
In a Tuesday interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody, the former president lauded Alito.
“He’s a great man, by the way. He’s a tremendous guy. … As a justice, he’s just fantastic,” he said.
“You have some great ones up there now,” Trump added, in an apparent reference to the justices he appointed.
JUST IN: In my one-one-interview at Mar-a-Lago with President Trump, he discusses the apparent Roe v. Wade reversal: "Some people maybe say it's my fault and some people say thank you very much." Also says, "the leak was a terrible thing." https://t.co/HeTfYXdYoQ @CBNNews pic.twitter.com/zFjzzhMHmX
— David Brody (@DBrodyReports) May 3, 2022
Brody pointed out that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is blaming him for Roe’s seemingly imminent demise.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pointed the finger at Trump too.
He responded, “Some people maybe say it’s my fault, and some people say thank you very much.”
I’m in the latter group: Thank you very much, Mr. President!