Chief Justice John Roberts provided on Monday the decisive vote to preserve access to abortion in Louisiana, a ringing victory for the clinics and doctors who spent years fighting a law they claimed would effectively ban the procedure in the state.
At the same time, however, Roberts left a key clue that could inspire other states to pass similar laws and guarantee that the issue of abortion remains front and center in national discourse decades after Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark Supreme Court legalizing abortion nationwide.
“This was a huge victory for the Louisiana clinic, or at least a huge defeat averted, but the chief justice’s opinion is a chilling sign for the future of abortion rights,” said Supreme Court expert and Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP partner Joshua Matz.
While Roberts sided with the court’s four liberals to strike down the Louisiana law, in a concurring opinion the chief justice left open the possibility that other states might be able to pursue similar restrictions.
If lower courts interpret future cases in light of Roberts’ opinion walking back the precedent, “that means a lot more regulations on abortion will be upheld,” Bopp said.
