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Mike Pence appears confident Supreme Court will overturn landmark abortion ruling

‘Pray that the conservatives on our Supreme Court will have the courage of their convictions’

Bevan Hurley
Saturday 22 January 2022 22:10 GMT
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Watch as Anti-abortion activists march through Washington DC

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Mike Pence said there was a “real prospect” that the Supreme Court will overturn Roe vs Wade and urged conservative student activists to be ready for action once the decision is ultimately made.

The former vice president said the “battleground for life” would then move to state legislatures in a speech to the National Pro-Life Summit in Washington, DC on Saturday.

“Your generation must lead and fight for life in every state across this land,” Mr Pence said

“With a real prospect of a post-Roe America before us, I urge you to prepare your minds for action,” Mr Pence added.

The Supreme Court is mulling whether to uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, marking the most direct challenge to Roe in years.

The court heard oral arguments in December and is expected to rule later this year. 

The appointment of justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett by Donald Trump has tilted the balance of the court to a 6-3 conservative supermajority and energised anti-abortion activists.

Several conservative states have already passed so-called trigger laws to enforce the abortion ban should the Supreme Court dismantle Roe.

Pence called on the Supreme Court to “restore the sanctity of life to the centre of American law.”
Pence called on the Supreme Court to “restore the sanctity of life to the centre of American law.” (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Mr Pence described the Trump administration as the “most pro-life administration in the history of the United States”.

He called on the court to “restore the sanctity of life to the centre of American law.”

“Pray that the conservatives on our Supreme Court will have the courage of their convictions,” he said.

Thousands of anti-abortion activists attended the annual March for Life on Friday and the National Pro-Life Summit on Saturday.

A recent poll found 69 per cent of Americans opposed a decision that completely overturns Roe, with just 30 per cent in support.

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