Sen. Joe Manchin III accused several of the Supreme Court’s conservative justices of having lied to Congress about their stance on abortion in the wake of the high court’s decision Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The West Virginia Democrat said he was disappointed by the 6-3 decision to topple Roe, a landmark 1973 ruling that made abortion legal nationwide.
“It has been the law of the land for nearly 50 years and was understood to be settled precedent,” he said.
What made the decision all the more stinging, according to Mr. Manchin, is that it was made possible by two Supreme Court justices he had backed. Mr. Manchin said that those justices, appointed by President Trump, had told Congress during their confirmation hearings that they believed Roe to be settled law not subject to being revoked.
“I trusted Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh when they testified under oath that they also believed Roe v. Wade was settled legal precedent, and I am alarmed they chose to reject the stability the ruling has provided for two generations of Americans,” Mr. Manchin said of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
The accusation is one that Democrats and some moderate Republicans, including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, have made in recent months. Ms. Collins, in particular, has lambasted both Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh for having misled her on their stance.
“This decision is inconsistent with what Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their testimony and their meetings with me, where they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents,” said Mrs. Collins.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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