As it turns out, a majority of the country does.
You know doubt already know that the far right Trump Supreme Court majority refused to block the grotesque Texas abortion law late last night. But here’s a dry news report about it just in case:
Texas lawmakers wrote the law to evade federal court review by allowing private citizens to bring civil lawsuits in state court against anyone involved in an abortion, other than the patient. Other abortion laws are enforced by state and local officials, with criminal sanctions possible.
In contrast, Texas’ law allows private citizens to sue abortion providers and anyone involved in facilitating abortions. Among other situations, that would include anyone who drives a woman to a clinic to get an abortion. Under the law, anyone who successfully sues another person would be entitled to at least $10,000.
In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan called the law “patently unconstitutional,” saying it allows “private parties to carry out unconstitutional restrictions on the State’s behalf.” And Justice Stephen Breyer said a “woman has a federal constitutional right to obtain an abortion during” the first stage of pregnancy.
After a federal appeals court refused to allow a prompt review of the law before it took effect, the measure’s opponents sought Supreme Court review.
In a statement early Thursday after the high court’s action, Nancy Northup, the head of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents abortion providers challenging the law, vowed to “keep fighting this ban until abortion access is restored in Texas.”
“We are devastated that the Supreme Court has refused to block a law that blatantly violates Roe v. Wade. Right now, people seeking abortion across Texas are panicking — they have no idea where or when they will be able to get an abortion, if ever. Texas politicians have succeeded for the moment in making a mockery of the rule of law, upending abortion care in Texas, and forcing patients to leave the state — if they have the means — to get constitutionally protected healthcare. This should send chills down the spine of everyone in this country who cares about the constitution,” she said.
Texas has long had some of the nation’s toughest abortion restrictions, including a sweeping law passed in 2013. The Supreme Court eventually struck down that law, but not before more than half of the state’s 40-plus clinics closed.
It won’t just be Texas. In fact, Florida wingnuts are already excited about it:
That might not work out as they plan it:
The same old divide.
New numbers from our most recent NBC poll show a majority of Americans — 54 percent — believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
That includes clear majorities of women, young Americans, whites with college degrees and those living in the suburbs.
But majorities and pluralities of evangelical Christians, rural Americans, older Americans and southerners say that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
Here are the numbers:
All adults: 54 percent legal, 42 percent illegal (was 44 percent legal, 54 percent illegal in 2003)
18-34: 65 percent legal, 32 percent illegal
65+: 48 percent-49 percent
18-44: 60 percent-37 percent
60+: 48 percent-49 percent
Whites: 51 percent-46 percent
Blacks: 55 percent-39 percent
Latinos: 63 percent-35 percent
Men: 49 percent-47 percent
Women: 59 percent-38 percent
Whites with college: 60 percent-37 percent
Whites without college: 46 percent-50 percent
Urban: 65 percent-34 percent
Suburban: 54 percent-42 percent
Rural: 33 percent-63 percent
Northeast: 65 percent-34 percent
Midwest: 49 percent-48 percent
South: 43 percent-52 percent
West: 65 percent-31 percent
Evangelicals: 26 percent-70 percent
Non-evangelicals: 65 percent-32 percent
Once again, a minority of the country — white, rural,(fake) evangelical, mostly male, right wingers rule our world, aided and abetted by cynical politicians who are happy to tear the country to pieces if that’s what it takes.
I do not know if this assault on women’s basic human rights will motivate people to vote in 2022. It has tended to only motivate the right in the past. Democrats have tended to see it as a niche issue (after all, it only affects everyone, especially the 60% of their voters who happen to be female) so there’s no need to put it at the top of the agenda with the vaunted kitchen table issues. But maybe things have changed. It may motivate the young and the suburban white people they need to win elections but they have to actually try.
By the way, if anyone thinks that monster women’s march in 2017 wasn’t fundamentally about this, they need to think again. We all knew that Trump’s win meant the Supreme Court majority was gone and with it, abortion rights.