FLORENCE, Ky. — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was in the Tri-State Monday speaking at the Rotary Club of Florence about issues he said are issues of importance to Kentucky and the nation.
One of the topics he spoke about was the recentU.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. He said that in 2016 he blocked then-President Obama's Supreme Court nomination, ultimately producing "major results" on several "landmark" decisions including the issue of abortion.
"What the court did in effect was return this very controversial issue to the people and their representatives so that it could be decided through the democratic process," McConnell said.
In response to critics that have said precedent should always prevail, McConnell said that precedent is indeed very important but sometimes it isn't right.
"Sometimes the precedent is outdated and wrong and this issue (was) sent back to the democratic process for the will of the American people through their elected representatives who make the decisions," McConnell said.
In a 6-3 decision, SCOTUS sided with the conservatives in the Mississippi case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is the sole abortion provider in Mississippi, who sued Thomas Dobbs, the state’s chief health officer. The clinic sued in 2020 after legislation passed that would prohibit abortions after 15 weeks, with no exceptions for rape or incest.
The ruling wasn't a shock to many because someone leaked a SCOTUS draft opinion in May that suggested the judges on the high court would overturn it.
Senator McConnell also mentioned two other supreme court decisions he calls wins, one involving a football coach who was fired after praying on the field after a game, and another involving firearm restrictions.
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