The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today challenging SB 8, Texas’ extreme six-week abortion ban. The court spent hours hearing from abortion providers in the state as well as a separate challenge from the Department of Justice. The entire ordeal raised a lot of questions but also solidified one already known fact: Neil Gorsuch is an incredible asshole.
While two conservative, Trump-nominated Justices—Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett—actually indicated through some of their questions that they might possibly be open to the abortion providers’ challenges of the law, if not the DOJ’s (based solely on the bizarre construction of the Texas law, not a sudden acceptance of abortion as a constitutionally protected right), Gorsuch approached these arguments from the worst-faith position imaginable.
Gorsuch’s very first question to Marc Hearron, senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights, implied that the “chilling” effects of S.B. 8 on people’s Constitutional rights aren’t really that big a deal because other laws also “have chilling effects on the exercise of constitutionally protected rights that can only be challenged defensively.”
First of all, the entire point is that abortion should not be only “defensively” protected—meaning you shouldn’t have to sue to maintain the right to seek an abortion.
Gorsuch loves the idea that a right to abortion is a constitutional right that can only be raised “defensively” which should terrify everyone
Need an abortion but there’s a law getting in the way? Sue to block it and hope the court rules in time for you to get that abortion
— Jessica Mason Pieklo (@Hegemommy) November 1, 2021
Second, the examples Gorsuch uses in comparison to abortion are completely off-the-wall bonkers. He references “defamation laws, gun control laws, rules during the pandemic” as some of these “defensively” protected laws that can “only be challenged after the fact.”
OMG Justice Gorsuch chimes in to ask about chilling rights.
“Don’t mask mandates and gun control laws also chill rights.”
Jesus h.
— Rewire News Group (@RewireNewsGroup) November 1, 2021
Gorsuch is just running full-steam with this bad faith line of questioning on how ACHTUALLY lots of laws chill rights
— Jessica Mason Pieklo (@Hegemommy) November 1, 2021
This really happened. Gorsuch equated chilling abortion rights with bounty hunters to chilling *religious freedom* with MASKS.
TO RECAP:
* Masks = attack on religious freedom
* Forced birth = normal Monday https://t.co/vfLhh1anAF— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) November 1, 2021
Gorsuch brought his bad faith arguments back when questioning Elizabeth Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general (who, by the way, was on her first day on the job and completely killed it), and this time he did it without any of the niceties he offered to the men he spoke to earlier.
Speaking to Prelogar, Gorsuch’s questions were just as terrible as before, but his aggressively condescending tone and constant interruptions were so striking that it was all many people could notice.
Gorsuch: [continues to make stupid point that “chilling” effects of laws are allowed against guns and religion]
Prelogar: [tries to explain it to him]
Gorsuch: [interrupts]
Gorsuch: [talks over her]
Kagan: [interrupts Gorsuch’s interrupting to answer his stupid question]— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) November 1, 2021
Alito and Gorsuch’s tone with Prelogar is just indefensible (as is their implicit position on this case).
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) November 1, 2021
The gender dynamics between the male justices—Gorsuch in particular, but also lookin’ at you, Alito—and female SG Prelogar are extremely relevant here.
— Becca (@kbeccaandrews) November 1, 2021
The “Nooooo, Justice Gorsuch” with which Prelogar just answered hang with all the tone of a woman used to responding to men’s nonsense in professional settings while doing so in a way that doesn’t take the floor out from under herself
— Jessica Mason Pieklo (@Hegemommy) November 1, 2021
It is UNBELIEVABLE how rude Gorsuch is being.
— Rewire News Group (@RewireNewsGroup) November 1, 2021
There’s been a lot of discussion recently over how much and in what ways the negative public perception of the court is affecting Justices’ behavior and even their decisions from the bench. For Gorsuch to act so horribly, with such blatant sexism seething out of him, it’s hard to imagine he cares very much at all.
(image: Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images)
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