COURT’S BIG DECISION YESTERDAY
TO REVERSE ROE.
WILL: JOINING US NOW IS UTAH
SENATOR SENATOR MIKE WHO, IN
FACT, CLERKED FOR SUPREME COURT
JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO.
SENATOR, GREAT TO SEE YOU THIS
MORNING.
>> THANK YOU.
GOOD TO BE WITH YOU.
WILL: YOU KNOW, I THINK I WANT
TO ASK QUESTION TO YOU THIS WAY:
ARE YOU SURPRISED BY THE
MAJORITY OPINION OF JUSTICE
ALITO HAVING CLERKED FOR HIM,
AND I ASK YOU THAT QUESTION SORT
OF SITTING SIDE BY SIDE BY SOME
OF THE, SOME OF THE SENATORS WHO
ARE UPSET TODAY LIKE SUSAN
COLLINS WHO SAY THE JUSTICES
LIED TO US.
SO IN OTHER WORDS, ARE YOU
SURPRISED BY THE DECISION,
SHOULD THEY HAVE BEEN SURPRISED
BY THE DECISION?
>> WELL, I’M NOT SURPRISED BY
IT.
AND IT’S NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE
LEAKED DRAFT OPINION, IT’S ALSO
BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT ROE
WAS, AS JUSTICE ALITO PROPERLY
DESCRIBED IT, EGREGIOUSLY WRONG.
IT WAS SEVERELY WRONG.
AND IT ALSO DOESN’T MEET ANY OF
THE OTHER HALLMARK
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TYPE OF
PRECEDENT THAT THE COURT WOULD
TEND TO ADHERE TO EVEN IF IT
MIGHT BE WRONG.
IT HAD INCH CONSISTENT
APPLICATIONS -- INCONSISTENT
APPLICATIONS, IT HADN’T PROVEN
TO BE A PARTICULARLY WORKABLE
STANDARD, AND IT, THEREFORE,
DIDN’T SURVIVE THE COURT’S
ANALYSIS UNDER WHAT THEY CALL
STARE DECISIS.
LOOK, I AGREE WITH SHANNON
BREAM’S ASSESSMENT.
INDIVIDUAL SENATORS MAY HAVE HAD
CONVERSATIONS AS THEY CAME
THROUGH THE CONFIRMATION IF
PROCESS.
THEY MAY HAVE HAD THEIR OWN
PROCESS, BUT NOT ONE OF THEM
EVER COMMITTED TO SAY I WILL
NEVER OVERTURN A WRONG PRECEDENT
AND, IN FACT, YOU WOULDN’T WANT
A JUSTICE TO SAY THAT.
I’M CONFIDENT THERE WAS NO LYING
HERE.
THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD MISTAKEN
EXPECTATIONS, INDIVIDUAL
SENATORS MIGHT HAVE, BUT THESE
JUSTICES WERE VERY CAREFUL AS
THEY CAME THROUGH, AND I’M
CONFIDENT THEY WOULDN’T HAVE
SAID ANYTHING THAT WOULD HAVE
BEEN MATERIALLY MISLEADING.
I WASN’T PART OF THOSE
CONVERSATIONS, BUT IT WOULD
REALLY SURPRISE ME.
PETE: SENATOR, YOU’VE BEEN AT
THE CENTER OF FIGHT TO PRESERVE
SUPREME COURT BUT ALSO ON THE
ISSUE OF LIFE, A 50-YEAR BATTLE
TO GET TO THIS POINT.
WHAT WAS PIVOTAL POINT THAT
CREATED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A
DECISION LIKE THIS?
>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THE
DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE IN THIS
AREA HAS MADE AMERICANS REALIZE
THAT HUMAN LIFE DOES, IN FACT,
BEGIN BEFORE THE MOMENT OF LIVE
BIRTH.
AND AS WE LEARN MORE AND MORE
ABOUT FETAL DEVELOPMENT, ABOUT
THE STAGES OF UNBORN, PREBORN
HUMAN LIFE, WE REALIZE THAT
BABIES HAVE ABILITY TO FEEL AND
RESPOND TO PAINFUL STIMULI.
I THINK THAT MAY WELL BE THE
SINGLE BIGGEST DEVELOPMENT
THAT’S CAUSED A LOT OF PEOPLE TO
REVISIT THIS IDEA.
IT’S CAUSED STATES LIKE
MISSISSIPPI TO ADOPT LAWS
DESIGNED TO PROTECT PREBORN
HUMAN BEINGS FROM PAIN.
AND SO THAT’S WHERE WE ARE AT
THIS MOMENT.
THEY REVISITED IT IN PART
BECAUSE OF MODERN SCIENCE, AND
ONCE IT WAS REVISITED AS A
MATTER OF LAW WITHIN THESE STATE
LEGISLATURES, IT GAVE AN
OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SUPREME
COURT TO TO REHAVE VISIT THE
ORIGINAL DECISION IN ROE TO --
TO REVISIT.
CARLEY: ABSOLUTELY.
THE NUMBER OF ABORTIONS HAVE
DECREASED AS SONOGRAM TECHNOLOGY
HAS INCREASED WHICH, I THINK, IS
A VERY HOPEFUL SIGN ABOUT WHERE
WITH WOMEN STAND ON THIS ISSUE.
ALSO BIG NEWS HERE, FOX NEWS
ALERT, PRESIDENT BIDEN DID SIGN
THIS BIPARTISAN GUN LEGISLATION
INTO LAW.
IT DID RECEIVE SUPPORT FROM SOME
SENATORS BUT NOT YOU WITH.
WHY DID YOU NOT APPROVE OF THIS
LEGISLATION?
>> WELL, LOOK, THIS WAS A PIECE
OF LEGISLATION THAT WE HAD NO
MORE THAN ABOUT 48 HOURS TO
REVIEW.
THE FIRST VOTE WE CAST ON IT WAS
CAST WITHIN MINUTES, LITERALLY
MINUTES OF WHEN WE FIRST SAW THE
TEXT.
NOW, THIS IS 80 PAGES OF TEXT,
DOESN’T READ LIKE A FAST-PACED
NOVEL.
BUT THE MORE I DOVE INTO THIS
HINGE AND I GOT INTO THE
NITTY-GRITTY DETAILS, I REALIZED
IT WAS NOT PARTICULARLY WELL
WRITTEN.
IT’S FULL OF AMBIGUITY THAT’S
GOING TO LEAD TO ALL SORTS OF
PROBLEMS TO SAY NOTHING OF THE
FACT THAT IT FUNDS THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF RED FLAG LAWS
WHO HAVE AS THEIR DISTINGUISHING
CHARACTERISTIC THE OPPORTUNITY
FOR STATEMENTS TO TAKE AWAY
PEOPLE’S -- STATES TO TAKE AWAY
PEOPLE’S PRIVATE PROPERTY WAS
DUE PROCESS OF LAW, WITHOUT AN
ADEQUATE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT
EVIDENCE AND CROSS-EXAMINE
ADVERSE WITNESSES.
PETE: SMART GUY.
UTAH SENATOR MIKE LEE,
APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.