“A University College London scientist has accused lawyers in the US of misusing his groundbreaking work on the brain to justify the dismantling of Roe v Wade,” The Guardian reports.
Is Same-Sex Marriage Next to Fall?
“When the Supreme Court heard arguments in December over the fate of the constitutional right to abortion, it was already clear that other rights, notably including same-sex marriage, could be at risk if the court overruled Roe v. Wade,” the New York Times reports.
“The logic of that legal earthquake, Justice Sonia Sotomayor predicted, would produce a jurisprudential tsunami that could sweep away other precedents, too.”
“The logic of the opinion left plenty of room for debate. It said a right to abortion cannot be found in the Constitution or inferred from its provisions. The same could be said, using the draft opinion’s general reasoning, for contraception, gay intimacy and same-sex marriage, rights established by three Supreme Court decisions that were discussed at some length in the argument in December.”
Antiabortion HQ Hit by Molotov Cocktail
Vandals set a fire inside the Madison headquarters of the anti-abortion group Wisconsin Family Action late Saturday or early Sunday, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.
Biden to Target GOP on Inflation
President Biden is preparing a major speech Tuesday to address inflation, and will contrast his plans to lower costs for American families with those offered by congressional Republicans, Axios reports.
Supreme Court Majority Still Backs Overturning Roe
As of last week, when the draft Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade first leaked, five justices were still on board with the gist of what Justice Samuel Alito had drafted back in February, the Washington Post reports.
Chief Justice John Roberts has backed an incremental approach to banning abortions, but also to keep in place key tenets of Supreme Court precedent on abortion rights.
The History of Mother’s Day
Heather Cox Richardson: “If you google the history of Mother’s Day, the internet will tell you that Mother’s Day began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis decided to honor her mother. But Mothers’ Day—with the apostrophe not in the singular spot, but in the plural—actually started in the 1870s, when the sheer enormity of the death caused by the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War convinced American women that women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage.”
“Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change modern society.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“If a dog catches a car, it doesn’t know what to do. We do.”
— Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, quoted by the New York Times.
Democrats Warn GOP Will Restrict Abortion Nationwide
“Democrats rang alarm bells on Sunday about the likelihood that Republicans would try to restrict abortion nationwide, two days after an interview was published in which Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, said a ban was ‘possible’ if his party gained control in Washington,” the New York Times reports.
“On the Sunday talk shows and in other public statements, Democratic senators said Republicans would not stop at letting the states decide the issue, but would most likely push for federal restrictions. That made it paramount, they said, that the Democratic Party maintain control of the Senate as it tries to codify abortion rights into federal law.”
Democrats May Have to Write a Bill Manchin Backs
“Sen. Joe Manchin says he’s still interested in passing major pieces of President Joe Biden’s agenda — but sources close to the West Virginia senator say Democrats may be making a big mistake by waiting for him to lay out precisely what he’d support,” NBC News reports.
“Manchin has expressed interest in passing a bill through the filibuster-proof reconciliation process that would raise taxes, reduce the deficit, cut prescription drug costs, and fund energy and climate measures, even though some Democrats fear the West Virginia centrist is running out the clock.”
Politico: “Senate Democrats have overhauled their child care proposal in hopes of winning over the likes of Sen. Joe Manchin and securing its inclusion in a future reconciliation package.”
Western Allies Unveil New Sanctions on Russia
U.S., G7 and European Union agreed to impose sweeping new sanctions on Russia ahead of its symbolic Victory Day holiday on May 9, including additional export controls and a commitment to phase out Russian oil, Axios reports.
Biden Speeds Up Plan to Reopen Kyiv Embassy
The Biden administration is accelerating plans to reopen the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, part of an increasingly bold and risky approach to the Russia-Ukraine war, Axios reports.
Getting Oligarch Assets to Ukraine Isn’t Easy
New York Times: “It could take years for Russian assets seized by the United States to be permanently confiscated and sold to benefit the Ukrainian people. The Biden administration wants to speed up the process.”
Telemedicine Abortion Providers See Surge in Interest
Politico: “Online providers and groups are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of people requesting abortion pills or seeking information on consultations for the drugs since the draft opinion ending Roe v. Wade was first reported on Monday.”
Threat to Roe Puts GOP on Defense
“In the top Senate battlegrounds, Democrats are buying up television time and sounding off at every opportunity about Republican plans to curtail abortion rights. They have seized on the moment — and consider it a possible turning point,” Politico reports.
“Many Republicans, though, are shrugging. Among those in the most competitive contests, reaction to the news that the Supreme Court was poised to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision has been muted, marked by statements in support of overturning Roe and great caution to avoid placing abortion at the center of their campaigns.”
Where Does the Anti-Abortion Movement Go?
New York Times: “The sprawling anti-abortion grass-roots campaign is rapidly approaching an entirely new era, one in which abortion would no longer be a nationally protected right to overcome, but a decision to be legislated by individual states.”
“For many activists, overturning Roe would mark what they see as not the end, but a new beginning to limit abortion access even further. It also would present a test, as those who have long backed incremental change could clash with those who increasingly push to end legal abortion altogether.”
Justin Trudeau Makes Surprise Visit to Ukraine
“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise visit to Irpin, Ukraine on Sunday, the town’s mayor Olexander Markushyn said in a Telegram post alongside photos of Trudeau walking around the town,” Axios reports.
“Trudeau also traveled to Kyiv, where he presided over the raising of the Canadian flag at the country’s embassy and announced its reopening, per Politico.“
A Highly Winnable Fight
Andrew Sullivan: “A healthy political party would thrill at this opportunity — a winning issue where the GOP has gone off the deep end. In the states likely to ‘trigger’ total bans if Roe falls, 43 percent of adults on average say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, while 52 percent say it should be illegal in most or all cases. That’s a highly winnable fight.”
“In states which might re-enact some kind of abortion restrictions, ‘an average of 49 percent of adults say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, compared with 45 percent who say otherwise’ — even more promising terrain for Democrats.”
Quote of the Day
“The fall will be swift.”
— Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), quoted by ABC News, on the Supreme Court potentially ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.
