House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Monday insisted that voters really don’t need to worry about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ calls to reconsider landmark cases that granted the right to same-sex marriage and contraception, among other decisions, when they cast their ballots in the midterms.
In its 213-page decision overturning Roe v. Wade on Friday, the conservative majority, led by Justice Samuel Alito, vowed that the decision does not pose threats to other constitutional rights related to bodily autonomy and private relationships.
Thomas, however, disagreed. He suggested in a concurring opinion that the Court should revisit other landmark decisions related to host of protected privacy rights.
During an interview on Fox News, McCarthy was asked about whether he thinks Democrats could use Thomas’ concurring opinion as a rallying cry heading into the midterms.
McCarthy simply shrugged at the idea, insisting that Alito and the other conservative justices wouldn’t bother trying to overturn other landmark cases.
“You read the opinion — he said no, this is only dealing with Roe v. Wade, not with anything else,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think they will be used in a campaign. It’s inoculated from there.”
In the wake of the Court’s move to overturn the right to an abortion, Democrats such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have expressed alarm at Thomas’ opinion and the prospect of where the justices might be headed next.
“I understand that the rest of the court said, ‘No, no, we’re not going there,’ but remember how we got to where we are,” Warren said during an interview on ABC News on Sunday.
Warren also called on voters to elect Democrats in the midterm elections who are willing to eliminate or change the filibuster to help codify Roe, which Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman and Wisconsin Senate candidate Mandela Barnes have said they would do if they win election.
“We [need to] get two more senators on the Democratic side, two senators who are willing to protect access to abortion and get rid of the filibuster so that we can pass it,” Warren said.
Watch McCarthy’s remarks below:
