Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is calling for big changes after the Supreme Court refused to block Texas’ strict abortion law.
In a tweet on Wednesday night, the New York Congresswoman said, “Republicans promised to overturn Roe v Wade, and they have.”
“Democrats can either abolish the filibuster and expand the court, or do nothing as millions of peoples’ bodies, rights, and lives are sacrificed for far-right minority rule,” she continued.
Finally, she said, “This shouldn’t be a difficult decision.”
Republicans promised to overturn Roe v Wade, and they have.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 2, 2021
Democrats can either abolish the filibuster and expand the court, or do nothing as millions of peoples’ bodies, rights, and lives are sacrificed for far-right minority rule.
This shouldn’t be a difficult decision. https://t.co/GcEjkxt3gs
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments come after the Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling did not block Texas’ abortion law which is the most restrictive in the nation.
The law, which went into effect on Wednesday, bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. It also provides incentives for individuals to sue anyone suspected of helping a woman get an abortion by providing a reward of at least $10,000.
Chief Justice John Roberts joined with the court’s three liberal judges in the dissent.
The New York Times reports, “The majority opinion was unsigned and consisted of a single long paragraph. It said the abortion providers who had challenged the law in an emergency application to the court had not made their case in the face of ‘complex and novel’ procedural questions. The majority stressed that it was not ruling on the constitutionality of the Texas law and did not mean to limit ‘procedurally proper challenges’ to it.”
Progressives have been pushing Senate Democrats to eliminate the filibuster, a procedural hurdle used to delay or block legislation, which would let them pass bills with just 51 votes in the upper chamber instead of 60.
The Senate is currently divided 50-50, meaning Democrats need at least 10 Republicans to vote for legislation for it to pass the chamber.
Meanwhile, some Democrats want to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority after former President Donald Trump appointed three justices.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) suggested that four seats should be added to the court to create a 7-6 liberal majority, which he claimed would “shore up the public’s confidence in the court and its legitimacy in the public’s eyes.”