In a PBS Newshour interview with Jim Lehrer, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (SD-D) said that he would not necessarily oppose a US Supreme Court Justice nominee who supports overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 US Supreme Court decisions legalizing abortion. Daschle told host Jim Lehrer that a nominee’s opposition to Roe “alone would not probably be the ultimate decision for me. I would want to look at a lot of other factors as well.”
Abortion rights currently rests on a razor thin 5-4 margin in the Court. Daschle’s tepid response has drawn criticism from women’s rights and abortion rights leaders who believe the Senate should refuse to confirm any US Supreme Court nominee who opposes the right to privacy and the Roe decision.
