GOP Sen. Joni Ernst Says There's A 'Very Minimal' Chance Roe v. Wade Will Be Overturned
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) says she doesn’t think the Supreme Court will overturn its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling, even though she signed a brief urging the court to do so earlier this year.
“I think the likelihood of Roe v. Wade being overturned is very minimal. I don’t see that happening,” Ernst said Monday while facing off against Democrat Theresa Greenfield in a debate hosted by Iowa PBS.
Ernst’s comments were followed an hour later by Montana GOP Sen. Steve Daines arguing it was unlikely the court would strike down the Affordable Care Act because of a lawsuit he has long supported.
The combined effort makes it appear as if vulnerable Republicans senators are trying to convince voters Barrett won’t push for unpopular conservative policy goals, including the repeal of abortion rights and the elimination of Medicaid expansion, if she gains a seat on the nation’s highest court.
Ernst, an anti-abortion senator who is seeking her second term this year, joined 38 of her Republican Senate colleagues in January in asking the Supreme Court to revisit and potentially overturn Roe, which protects the right to abortion. The “friend of the court” brief was also signed by 168 House members.
Conservatives are preparing for a showdown on abortion rights following President Donald Trump’s nomination last week of 48-year-old Amy Coney Barrett to fill the position made vacant by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death on Sept. 18. Barrett is an appellate court judge who once clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
Her confirmation, which looks all but certain in the GOP-controlled Senate, would solidify a 6-3 conservative majority on the high court for the foreseeable future.
The experts are saying it’s highly unlikely they’ll overturn the ACA. That’s the consensus of many legal experts. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.
“She is certainly conservative in her views, in her rulings, and we’ll have to see how that...
