For Clarence Thomas, Roe v. Wouldn’t be the end of it. The Supreme Court judge wants to restrict further rights to sexual self-determination. Hillary Clinton has known Thomas since law school – and doesn’t have a good opinion.
The right to abortion in the USA is already gone, further rights to sexual self-determination could follow. For Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, that seems crystal clear. The 74-year-old already pointed out in his final statement on the overturned abortion precedent “Roe v. Wade” that other fundamental judgments would now also have to be put to the test. This comes as no surprise to Hillary Clinton. The former Democratic presidential candidate and ex-Secretary of State has known Thomas since her days at Yale Law School – and remembers a deeply dissatisfied and resentful fellow student.
On the CBS TV station, Clinton made a powerful go at her former classmates. “For as long as I’ve known him, he’s been a complainer; full of prejudice and resentment,” Clinton said of the man, who graduated in 1974 (a year after Clinton) and has been a Supreme Court Justice since 1991. In the hearings for his nomination, the opposition to abortion rights that was suspected at the time was already an issue – as was a case of sexual harassment, which, however, could not be proven. Thomas also has a dubious reputation as a judge who almost never asks a question during trials. For a whopping ten years — from 2006 to 2016 — Thomas remained silent in the courtroom.
Hillary Clinton: “Women Will Die”
In an interview with “CBS This Morning” host Gayle King, Clinton accused Thomas of pursuing a special strategy. The goal: to ultimately overturn all right-wingers, who are a thorn in the side of arch-conservatives. He was signaling to conservatives and MPs in Republican-dominated legislatures to “find cases” and “pass laws” aimed at libertarian rights such as abortion rights. As Clinton put it, Thomas’ credo is, “I may not win the first, second, or third time, but we’ll keep going.”
“The people he’s talking to are these right-wing, very conservative judges and state legislators,” Clinton added, “and the thing is — well, there’s so much about it that’s deeply troubling about … women are going to die, Gayle, women are going to die,” the Democratic politician addressed the presenter without naming her concerns.
Vehement opposition from the Republican side
Contradiction was a long time coming. Ted Cruz, Trumpist and Republican Senator from Texas, gifted Hillary Clinton with the same qualities she had gifted to Clarence Thomas. “The hatred Hillary Clinton has for conservatives is palpable,” Cruz wrote in a Twitter post. “An absurd accusation,” added J.D. Vance, Republican Senate nominee from Ohio. “Judge Thomas is one of the warmest people I’ve ever met. He has this amazing quality of treating everyone with kindness, regardless of their position.”
Quellen: CBS; “New York Post”, “The Hill”
