[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 113 (Monday, July 11, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3187-S3188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           U.S. Supreme Court

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, since the Senate was last in session, 
our Nation's highest Court finished its term. It was an absolutely 
historic series of victories for the American people and for the 
Constitution--the single best Supreme Court term in nearly 70 years, 
since Brown v. Board overturned Plessy in 1954.
  For the first time in modern history, there is a textualist and 
originalist majority on the Court--Justices who understand the job of a 
judge is to follow the law as it is written, who understand they are 
there to faithfully apply what our statutes and our Constitution 
actually say and leave everything else to the people and their elected 
representatives. This is the kind of judiciary that the rule of law 
requires, that our system of government demands, that a diverse society 
needs.
  Last month, the Court corrected one of the most egregious legal and 
moral mistakes of the 20th century. Only seven countries in the entire 
world allow elective abortion-on-demand past 20 weeks, but until 2 
weeks ago, past Supreme Courts had mistakenly decreed that the 
Constitution forced America to be one of them. All 50 States had to 
handle this issue like China and North Korea. No State was allowed to 
handle it even like France or Germany.
  Of course, there is no command like that in our Constitution, and 
that is what the Court finally recognized. There is nothing in the 
Constitution that forces us to be a radical, global outlier on 
abortion. The American people finally have their freedom back to enact 
commonsense protections for unborn life.
  Millions of Americans spent nearly half a century working, marching, 
and praying for this landmark day. It has been an honor to stand with 
them throughout the journey that led to June 24, 2022, and to continue 
to stand together. The Court's ruling in Dobbs is not only a huge 
victory for innocent life, it is a historic triumph for the rule of law 
itself.
  Even liberal legal experts, including the late Justice Ginsburg, said 
the Court's abortion precedents were badly reasoned.
  Liberal Yale law professor Akhil Amar, just this May, wrote:

       I am a Democrat who supports abortion rights but opposes 
     Roe . . . In the eyes of many constitutional experts across 
     the ideological spectrum, it [lacked] solid grounding in the 
     Constitution.


[[Page S3188]]


  Now, Washington Democrats have taken pains to ignore that. Remember, 
their party has become jaw-droppingly extreme on this issue. More than 
60 percent of Americans support restrictions after 15 weeks. Only 19 
percent of Americans want abortion on demand until the moment of birth, 
but 97 percent of Washington Democrats support precisely that; 97 
percent of Washington Democrats are with less than one-fifth of the 
country on this issue. So Democrats are desperate to change the 
subject. Many are not even trying to argue with the decision but have 
pivoted to claims about all kinds of unrelated issues, but this is 
nonsense.
  Here again is Professor Amar, the arch-liberal from Yale Law, 
writing, again, back in May:

       Does Justice Alito's draft, as many are now claiming, 
     inflict collateral damage on other areas of constitutional 
     case law, such as the Warren Court's precedents on 
     contraception and interracial marriage? It does not. In fact, 
     the Dobbs draft reinforces these iconic opinions by 
     explaining why they were [actually] right.

  From top to bottom, this ruling was a gigantic step forward for human 
dignity and for the rule of law. The Justices tuned out the mobs and 
attempted violence, tuned out the threats from politicians, and simply 
followed the law where it clearly led.
  This historic achievement was just one part of the most consequential 
Supreme Court term in seven decades. I will have more to say on this 
subject this week.