In reaction to Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement announcement, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Wednesday that he believes abortion rights will suffer the consequences in the months to come.
“Anthony Kennedy is retiring. Abortion will be illegal in twenty states in 18 months,” Toobin wrote.
During a discussion on CNN Wednesday, Toobin told viewers “You are going to see 20 states banning abortion outright.”
“Because they know that there are now gonna be five votes on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. And abortion will be illegal in a significant part of the United States in 18 months, there is just no doubt about that, and that’s why these seats matter so much.”
The Planned Parenthood Action Fund also tweeted their concern over Kennedy’s announcement, stating that no matter who takes his place in the future, the organization will continue to advocate for abortion rights.
“Make no mistake. We won’t let @POTUS & @SenateMajLdr get their way without one hell of a fight. We control our bodies.”
“Access to safe and legal abortion should not be up for debate. Period. Politicians and judges should not be making decisions about our bodies and our freedoms about when and whether we become parents,” the organization added in a later tweet.
Kennedy, who was nominated by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1987, was the swing vote on many controversial issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
Upon receiving a letter from Kennedy stating his decision to retire on July 31, President Trump told reporters that the process to nominate a replacement would “begin immediately.”
The president also referred to his list of potential nominees which was updated in November of 2017.
“We have a list of 25 people that I actually had during my election, I had to 20 and as you know, I added 5 a little while ago. We have a very excellent list of great, talented, highly educated, highly intelligent, hopefully tremendous people,” Trump stated.
“And I think you see the kind of quality that we’re looking at when you look at that list. But I did add, I added 5 additional people to the list. So it will be somebody from that list. So we have now boiled it down to about 25 people.”
However, critics are concerned that Kennedy’s impending retirement will also strike a massive blow to current LGBTQ rights, making their future uncertain.
“Anti-LGBTQ advocates are already gearing up to weaken LGBTQ rights in the US now that Kennedy is leaving the Court,” wrote German Lopez.
“The Kennedy exit is coming at a big moment for LGBTQ rights. There are some major issues that are likely to arrive before the Court in the next few years: Do religious rights allow people to bypass laws that prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimination in the workplace, housing, and public accommodations (such as hotels, bakeries, restaurants, and other venues that serve the public)?”
“Kennedy was a reliable swing vote toward LGBTQ rights. With his retirement, the future of that movement — at least when it comes to Supreme Court decisions — looks much less certain,” Lopez concluded.