Democrats are calling the Supreme Court’s ruling on a Louisiana abortion law a huge win for health care and reproductive rights.
The court ruled 5-4 on Monday that a Louisiana law, which aimed to ban medical officials from performing abortions unless they had admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, was unconstitutional.
Some, like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), celebrated the ruling.
“Today the Supreme Court reaffirmed what was clear – Louisiana’s law purporting to protect health and safety is unconstitutional and was always about restricting reproductive rights,” Cuomo tweeted. “We will not go back.”
Many lawmakers praised the decision but argued there is more work to be done to protect reproductive rights.
“Next up: we need to codify Roe v. Wade and make it a federal law,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) tweeted, calling the decision the “right thing to do.”
Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) echoed that call for action.
“I’m relieved but we cannot become complacent,” she wrote. “The GOP and anti-abortion extremists will keep trying to roll back our rights—and we’ll need to keep fighting back like hell.”
Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) acknowledged that abortion access was a “constitutional right.”
“Today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that where a person lives shouldn’t determine their ability to receive access to abortion,” Markey tweeted. “I will continue to fight to protect reproductive freedom and this essential constitutional right.”
“The Supreme Court has confirmed it over and over again: the decision to get an abortion is a constitutional right, whether extremist Republican legislators like it or not,” Sanders wrote.
Opponents of the Louisiana law worried how Brett Kavanaugh ― the newest Trump-appointed justice, who was confirmed in October 2018 ― would rule on the issue. But Chief Justice Roberts, who has voted against reproductive rights in the past, tipped the court’s decision by siding with the more liberal justices and leaving Republicans outraged.
“What’s next, Chief Justice Roberts?” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) tweeted Monday. “Our Second Amendment rights?”
Calling all HuffPost superfans!
Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost’s next chapter
