Opinion | Thank Donald Trump for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade

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Overturning Roe v. Wade has been the overarching, seemingly impossible goal of the pro-life movement for almost five decades. Now that it has finally been achieved, four words should be on the lips of every pro-life conservative today: Thank you, Donald Trump.

Looking back on Trumps chaotic presidency, some understandably ask: Was it all worth it for a few conservative justices? To which I answer: Yes. A thousand times, yes.

Every Republican president before Trump failed miserably when it came to Supreme Court picks. In 1970, Richard M. Nixon nominated Harry A. Blackmun, who would go on to be the ignominious author of Roe. Gerald Ford picked only one justice, John Paul Stevens, who became the leader of the courts liberal bloc. Ronald Reagan had three appointees (Sandra Day OConnor, Antonin Scalia and Anthony M. Kennedy), but only Scalia was a consistent conservative vote on the court. George HW Bush named one brilliant conservative (Clarence Thomas) and one catastrophic liberal (David Souter). George W. Bush selected Samuel A. Alito Jr., a marvelous conservative intellect who wrote the decision overturning Roe. But Bush also gave us John G. Roberts Jr., who promised to be an impartial umpire but instead has repeatedly legislated from the bench siding with the courts liberal bloc on a string of cases, including saving Obamacare, preserving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and striking down state laws that required hospitals to extend admitting privileges for doctors who perform abortions.

But Trump broke the mold. His nominations of Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett have made him the only Republican president in six decades to have a perfect record in appointing judicial conservatives. His picks have transformed the court: With Gorsuch, he saved its conservative majority. With Kavanaugh, he moved the court to the right by replacing a swing vote, Kennedy, with a reliable conservative. And with Barrett, he gave the conservative bloc the five votes they need to prevail without the vacillating chief justice.

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No doubt, Roberts would have found some Solomonic middle way to uphold Mississippis abortion law without overturning Roe and the 1992 case that upheld it, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. But thanks to Trump, Roberts was powerless. All three Trump appointees voted to strike down Roe and Casey declaring that, like Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 case that upheld racial segregation), these decisions were so egregiously wrong that they had to be overturned.

Radley Balko

counterpointIf Roe falls, more women will be prosecuted for miscarriages

Trumps appointments have effectively turned the Roberts Court into the Thomas Court. Whenever Roberts votes with the liberal bloc, Thomas as the most senior associate justice gets to assign the majority opinion. In Dobbs, he gave that responsibility to Alito, with brilliant effect.

Democrats have a virtually perfect record in appointing Supreme Court appointments. Their justices never defect to the conservative bloc on important cases. Not so for Republicans until Trump. With his picks, Trump batted a thousand. And his perfect record will transform the courts jurisprudence for a generation with far-reaching consequences not only for unborn life but also religious liberty, free speech, Second Amendment rights, the separation of powers and limited government.

Trump not only gave us a conservative court majority, he also saved us from an activist liberal majority. Had Hillary Clinton won the 2016 presidential election, she would have nominated a judicial activist to replace Scalia, creating a 5-to-4 liberal majority. Then she would have replaced Ruth Bader Ginsburg and perhaps Stephen G. Breyer, securing those seats for the liberal bloc for decades. Not only would Roe still be standing today, the activist liberal court that Clinton would have ushered in would have done breathtaking damage. It is thanks to Trump that this never happened.

No, this doesnt forgive Trumps behavior after the 2020 election. But knowing what I know now, am I grateful for Trumps four years in office? You bet I am. Millions of precious unborn lives will be saved as a result of this decision. And Trump made it possible.

I hope he does not run again in 2024. But Im sure glad he ran and won in 2016. Whatever else history says about him, hes secured his place as the most consequential president when it comes to the Supreme Court and our greatest pro-life president as well.

Roe v. Wade and abortion access in America

Roe v. Wade overturned: The Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade, which for nearly 50 years has protected the right to abortion. The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health was the most anticipated of the courts term, with tension surrounding the fight over abortion erupting in May with the leak of a draft opinion indicating a majority of justices intended to end the long-standing precedent.

What happens next? Now that the Supreme Court has overturned the 1973 precedent, the legality of abortion will be left to individual states. That likely will mean 52 percent of women of childbearing age would face new abortion limits.

State legislation: As Republican-led states move to restrict abortion, The Post is tracking legislation across the country on 15-week bans, Texas-style bans, trigger laws and abortion pill bans, as well as Democratic-dominated states that are moving to protect abortion rights enshrined in Roe v. Wade.

Supreme Court justices: Heres what we know about where each justice stands on the issue of abortion.

Who was Jane Roe, and how did she transform abortion rights? Jane Roe was a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey, who as a 22-year-old unmarried woman in Dallas in 1970 wanted to terminate her pregnancy. Her case against a Dallas County district attorney went to the Supreme Court. They ruled in her favor, 7-2, in 1973.

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