Texas Right to Life celebrates the announcement made today that Associate Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Anthony Kennedy is retiring. Justice Kennedy was not only considered the swing vote on the court for Pro-Life cases, but he also authored the historic and deeply flawed 1992 opinion Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Later, Justice Kennedy also redirected the Pro-Life movement with his historic opinion in Gonzales v. Carhart, widening a substantial gap in the foundation of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. Texas Right to Life is confident that President Trump will nominate a strict constructionist who will not only see that all human beings deserve protection under the Constitution of the United States, but also a new justice who does not see any penumbras. The Pro-Life movement must immediately turn our attention to encouraging the White House and the U.S. Senate to fully take advantage of this historic opportunity. Texas Right to Life will continue to pass prudent incremental legislation that saves lives, directs the cultural conversation toward the humanity of the preborn, and undermines Roe v. Wade. The most immediate judicial step for the movement is to defend the Dismemberment Abortion Ban (Whole Woman’s Health v. Paxton) that is currently being considered by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and should be the next Pro-Life case that the Supreme Court considers.
