“The View” co-host Joy Behar argued on Tuesday that if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, other landmark legal precedents could follow.
Behar said in a roundtable discussion Tuesday on the show that news of the Supreme Court potentially overturning Roe v. Wade, a precedent that granted the constitutional right to abortion, could be “just the beginning” for the court’s conservative majority.
“Next, they’ll go after gay marriage and maybe Brown v. Board of Education,” Behar said, referring to the court’s 2015 precedent that legalized same-sex marriage and 1954 precedent that ruled segregation in schools is unconstitutional.
“I see fascism down the line here,” Behar added.
The talk show host’s comments come after Politico published a draft majority opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving the decision on abortion to the states.
No official decision has been made by the court on the issue at hand, a Mississippi abortion law that would ban the procedure after 15 weeks.
The court is slated to make a final decision by the end of this term.
Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the draft but noted it was a draft and opinions could change. He ordered an investigation into the document’s disclosure to Politico.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also suggested the court could overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the same-sex marriage precedent, as well as civil rights rulings.
“As we’ve warned, SCOTUS isn’t just coming for abortion – they’re coming for the right to privacy Roe rests on, which includes gay marriage + civil rights,” the lawmaker tweeted.
The leak ignited a firestorm across the country, as many fear abortion rights will fall if the high court overturns the 1973 precedent. Nearly half of all states in the country have new laws restricting abortion access in place or bills in their legislatures.
Advocacy groups, including LGBT group Human Rights Campaign, quickly came out against the draft opinion.
President Biden made remarks on Tuesday, saying a “woman’s right to choose is fundamental.”
“Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned,” Biden said, calling on Americans to vote lawmakers who support abortion rights into Congress.
Behar said justices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch — who were all appointed by former President Trump during his presidency — lied during their confirmation hearings.
“It sounds to me that all of them felt it was a precedent and they would honor the precedent,” she said. “And now it’s the complete opposite.”