Hirono: Roe v. Wade won’t be overturned, but will be nullified

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said on Sunday that she does not think the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade now that Justice Brett Kavanaugh is a member, but that lower-level judicial and legislative decisions will instead undermine the landmark decision, which legalized abortion.

“It matters if they overturn Roe v. Wade, which I doubt they’re gonna do,” Hirono told ABC’s “This Week.”

“But … the states are very busy passing all kinds of laws that would limit a woman’s right to choose. It’s those things that will go before Justice Kavanaugh,” Hirono said.{mosads}

“Even if they don’t [overturn Roe v. Wade], they will nullify it, pretty much,” she concluded.

Roe v. Wade was one of the central issues at the core of Kavanaugh’s confirmation fight for Democrats, who have consistently expressed concerns that Kavanaugh will undermine protections for those seeking or providing abortions.  

Kavanaugh said in his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee that he considered Roe v. Wade to be settled law.

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told “This Week” on Sunday that Kavanaugh would not overturn Roe v. Wade, saying that the issue is much more likely to come down to decisions dealing with particulars surrounding abortion rather than the case itself.

“To be pro-choice in 2018 means that you are for sex-selection abortion, that you are for late-term abortion, taxpayer-funded abortion, abortion after the heartbeat or after nonpartisan scientists say the baby can feel pain,” Conway said.

“That is the issue here,” she said. “Those cases will get to the Supreme Court one day.”