WHAT THE JUSTICES SAID IN CONFIRMATION HEARINGS

“I do not think that at this time that I could maintain my impartiality as a member of the judiciary and comment on that specific case.”

Clarence Thomas, on Roe vs. Wade in 1991

“If ‘settled’ means it can’t be reexamined, then that’s one thing. If ‘settled’ means that it is a precedent that is entitled to respect as stare decisis and all of the factors that I’ve mentioned come into play, including the reaffirmation and all of that, then it is a precedent that is protected, entitled to respect under the doctrine of stare decisis in that way.” “It is a precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court. It was reaffirmed in Casey in 1992 and in several other cases. So a good judge will consider it as precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court worthy as treatment of precedent like any other. ... For a judge to start tipping his or her hand about whether they like or dislike this or that precedent would send the wrong signal. It would send the signal to the American people that the judge’s personal views have something to do with the judge’s job.”

Neil Gorsuch, who refused to say in 2017

how he would rule

Roe vs. Wade “is an important precedent of the Supreme Court that has been reaffirmed many times. But then Planned — and this is the point that I want to make that I think is important — Planned Parenthood vs. Casey reaffirmed Roe and did so by considering the stare decisis factors. So Casey now becomes a precedent on precedent.”

Brett Kavanaugh, who, questioned repeatedly in 2018 about how he would

rule on Roe, declined to directly answer whether the

decision was “correct law”

“What I will commit is that I will obey all the rules of stare decisis, that if a question comes up before me about whether Casey or any other case should be overruled, that I will follow the law of stare decisis, applying it as the court is articulating it, applying all the factors, reliance, workability, being undermined by later facts in law, just all the standard factors. ... I promise to do that for any issue that comes up, abortion or anything else. I’ll follow the law.”

Amy Coney Barrett, who, pressed in 2020 on whether she would vote to overturn decisions protecting abortion rights, gave no

hint of how she might rule

Samuel Alito, who said in 2006 he would approach the issue of abortion with an open mind