Voting 5-4, the U.S. Supreme Court smacked down Louisiana's back door abortion law that would require doctors who perform abortions to have the right to admit patients to a nearby hospital. The Louisiana law followed closely a similar Texas abortion law that was struck down by the high court in a 2016 decision. Chief Justice John Roberts said precedent in the outcome of the Texas case required the same outcome in the Louisiana case.
Louisiana's republicans who supported the law were quick to criticize the vote. Louisiana's Attorney General, Jeff Landry who defended the law to the Supreme Court and other republicans have used the law as back door approach to abortion by stating that the law is designed to ensure the health of women getting abortions. But the court in both the Louisiana and Texas case pointed out there was no evidence to support the position and in fact the law placed an undue burden on women seeking an abortion in violation of the 1992 Supreme Court's landmark decision in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey.
Bryn Stole, staff writer for the New Orleans Advocate wrote a long commentary concerning the courts decision in a article dated June 30 and wrote about the votes of the so called conservatives and liberal judges on the decision and noted conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts broke with his conservative majority on the court and voted to strike down the Louisiana law. But Stole failed to mention that it was a majority appointed republican conservative Supreme Court that decided Roe vs Wade in a 7-2 vote that legalized abortion. And 6 or those 7 votes were cast by republican appointed justices. So it should be no surprise that John Roberts voted to strike down Louisiana's law. Trump, the republican party and Mitch McConnell out smarted themselves into believing they could dominate a Supreme Court nominee's thinking. They made themselves to believe they could make the Court a political body.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
