Baker strips archaic state laws in SCOTUS Roe v. Wade threat
Gov. Charlie Baker aired concerns about Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s views on overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion decision yesterday, wading into a debate that will soon dominate the Supreme Court nomination proceedings.
“The biggest issue on reproductive rights right now is going to be the Supreme Court discussion in front of the Senate with respect to Justice Kavanaugh,” Baker told reporters minutes after he signed a bill to clear archaic abortion and contraceptive restrictions from the state’s books.
“I’m concerned about this previous writing on this issue,” Baker said. “I’m concerned about him, yes.”
Advocates across the country are bracing for repercussions of a world post-Roe v. Wade, where the question of access to abortion is sent back to the states to decide. The bill signed by Baker yesterday is one step states are taking to prepare for that possibility, said Rebecca Hart Holder of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts.
“With this new Supreme Court vacancy, Roe and women’s constitutional right to access abortion is facing a dire emergency,” she said. “And this is not a drill. The lawsuits necessary to overturn Roe are working their way through the courts now.”
Baker said he wants the Senate to grill President Trump’s nominee — especially on whether Kavanaugh will respect the precedent established in Roe.
“The Senate needs to exercise its advice and consent responsibilities,” Baker said. “The precedent issue associated with Roe v. Wade should be paramount among those. It does trouble me a little that everybody basically makes up their mind these days on everything before they have a hearing.”
This week, Baker was one of three Republican governors from Democratic-leaning states who did not sign onto a letter from the Republican Governors Association to Senate leaders supporting Kavanaugh. Maryland’s Larry Hogan and Vermont’s Phil Scott also did not sign. The letter touted Kavanaugh’s “impeccable credentials” and argued it’s fitting than a lawyer who clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy be confirmed to replace him.
In Massachusetts, Baker called it “unfortunate” that the state needs to prepare for a post-Roe situation by combing through its old laws dating back nearly 200 years that could be relied upon if the national precedent is overturned.