Amy Klobuchar Renews Call For Justice Breyers Retirement Amid Texas Abortion Law

Sen. Amy Klobuchar renewed her call on Sunday for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire sooner rather than later, saying that the high courts decision last week to allow Texas extremely restrictive anti-abortion law to go into effect makes the liberal justices decision even more urgent.

I believe, if he is seriously considering retirement and he has said he would do it based on not only his own health, but also the future of the court if this decision doesnt cry out for that, I dont know what does, the Minnesota Democrat told CNNs Dana Bash on State of the Union.

I think, if hes going to do it, sooner rather than later, she continued. And again, as you know Dana, thats not going to change the results necessarily, but at least it doesnt put it at 7-2.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar renews her call for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire sooner rather than later, telling @DanaBashCNN that the courts decision allowing Texas restrictive anti-abortion law to stand adds urgency. pic.twitter.com/dnmHCCEphi

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Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar renews her call for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to retire sooner rather than later, telling @DanaBashCNN that the courts decision allowing Texas restrictive anti-abortion law to stand adds urgency. pic.twitter.com/dnmHCCEphi
State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 5, 2021

The Supreme Courts conservative majority led a 5-4 ruling on Wednesday night to deny an emergency appeal to abortion providers in Texas that were fighting a law passed by the states Republican-controlled legislature and signed by its Republican governor. The law prohibits abortion after six weeks a point at which many people are not yet aware theyre pregnant with no exception for rape or incest, and includes incentives for private citizens to sue those who assist in getting the procedure by rewarding them with a $10,000 bounty .

In response to the courts decision, liberal Justices Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wrote blistering dissents calling the Texas law patently and obviously unconstitutional. Sotomayor said the majority of justices opted to bury their heads in the sand when presented with an application to enjoin a flagrantly unconstitutional law engineered to prohibit women from exercising their constitutional rights and evade judicial scrutiny.

The Supreme Courts decision to allow Texas to follow through with the law is the result of the Republican Partys reliance on unpopular elections and institutions that dont represent the majority , such as the high court, to achieve its goals. Three of the associate justices who cast the deciding votes Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett were appointed by former President Donald Trump, who won the White House in 2016 despite losing the popular vote by nearly 3 million.

Barrett, the most recent justice to join the court , replaced the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who decided against retiring in her 80s after multiple bouts of cancer at a time when her replacement could have been appointed by then-President Barack Obama in 2013 or 2014. Ginsburg died of cancer just weeks before the 2020 election, making room for Trump to replace her with another opponent of Roe v. Wade . Democrats have called for Breyers retirement so that President Joe Biden can be the one to appoint his replacement and the Senate can vote on confirmation while Democrats hold a majority in the chamber.

In late August, Breyer said he was struggling to decide when he should retire and inevitably has to think about who might take his place . The 83-year-old told The New York Times that he doesnt think Im going to stay there till I die, recalling a quote from Antonin Scalia in which the late justice said, I dont want somebody appointed who will just reverse everything Ive done for the last 25 years.

Klobuchar told CNN on Sunday that she is still supportive of expanding the number of seats on the Supreme Court and that the courts decision on Texas anti-abortion law is just the latest example of why. But the senator stressed that Democrats can best fight the law from gaining traction by codifying Roe v. Wade and abolishing the filibuster in the Senate.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar says the Senate should abolish the filibuster in order to codify abortion rights after the Supreme Court allowed Texas restrictive anti-abortion law to stand: Now and over the next years, we just will get nowhere if we keep this filibuster in place. pic.twitter.com/7ZexK03wdp

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar says the Senate should abolish the filibuster in order to codify abortion rights after the Supreme Court allowed Texas restrictive anti-abortion law to stand: Now and over the next years, we just will get nowhere if we keep this filibuster in place. pic.twitter.com/7ZexK03wdp
State of the Union (@CNNSotu) September 5, 2021

I do not believe an archaic rule should be used to allow us to put our heads in the sand, to use Justice Sotomayors words, to put our heads in the sand and not take action on the important issues, the challenges that are facing our country right now and over the next years, the senator said. We just will get nowhere if we keep this filibuster in place.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that Democrats will vote on the Womens Health Protection Act , a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade and enshrine abortion rights into federal law. Democrats could also try to expand the court as Klobuchar mentioned, but neither option would pass the Senate given it would need 60 votes of support to bypass a filibuster.

Biden directed the Gender Policy Council and the Office of the White House Counsel to launch a whole-of-government effort to respond to the courts decision, including investigating what the Justice and Health and Human Services departments can do to ensure that people in Texas can access abortions.