Last month, a leaked draft opinion offered a repudiation of a 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights. The historic leak was followed by both pro-choice and pro-life protests across the country.
While we await the Supreme Court’s decision, attorney Neal Katyal has been fighting back. Formerly the Solicitor General under the Obama Administration, Katyal joins us to discuss the historic nature of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion (4:18), the ‘super precedent’ that Roe v. Wade has set (6:24), and why the Constitution is designed to protect individual rights (9:45). We also look at the states that have begun restricting abortion (16:05) and their unnerving parallels to Margret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (20:23).
After the break, Neal outlines the aftermath of Alito’s draft opinion, should it come to pass: including other rights that could be in jeopardy (26:17), the erosion of public confidence in the courts (32:58), and a restrictive reimagining of the Judicial Branch (36:13). To end, Katyal reflects on a life in the courtroom and where he still finds hope—‘even in this darkest hour’ (44:29).
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