Washington, D.C.—U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson:
“Today, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a historic victory for life. For nearly 50 years, advocates for life have worked tirelessly to reverse Roe v. Wade, the worst example of judicial activism in the history of the Court. Even former Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg criticized the Court’s ruling in Roe.
“Last year, I signed an Amicus Brief requesting the Supreme Court uphold the Mississippi abortion law at issue in Dobbs. Regardless of one’s personal views on whether and under what circumstances there should be a ‘right to abortion,’ nowhere in the text of the federal Constitution is such a purported right stated or even implied, as the text was originally understood.
“The Supreme Court’s decision today affirmed that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion and that the authority to regulate abortion belongs with the American people through the democratic process. By overturning Roe, the Court is empowering the American electorate to determine, through their elected representatives, what limits on abortion they want implemented in their state. The majority also follows in the footsteps of prior Justices who, in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education, courageously and correctly overturned their own disgraceful precedent in Plessy v. Ferguson. I commend the Court for doing so.
“At the federal level, I will continue to support pro-life policies in Congress such as the Hyde Amendment, to prohibit taxpayer funding of abortions, and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which requires medical care for babies born alive in botched abortions.”