Dem Rep. Chu: I Hope SCOTUS Leak Will ‘Ensure That Some Justices Change Their Minds’ – I’m ‘Glad That This Came to Light’

On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “MTP Daily,” Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) stated that she hopes the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion on Roe v. Wade “would ensure that some justices change their minds.” And that while she believes we need to know how the leak happened, “the information was important for us to know,” and “I am at least glad that this came to light.”

Host Kristen Welker asked, “This is a draft decision, but do you think — and do you think part of the purpose of this leak was to try to build momentum to change the mind of one of these justices? Do you think there’s still time for those, like yourself, who want to see the opposite decision?”

Chu answered, “This is not a final decision. I, indeed, would hope that this would ensure that some justices change their minds. We need to make sure that the original decision, which said that abortion is a constitutional right, is upheld. And, in fact, I think that the statements made by Justice Alito were very, very flawed. It certainly showed that there [are] shockingly anti-women decisions that are being made underground. And I am at least glad that this came to light. And we need to ensure that, in fact, we continue on our quest to make the Women’s Health Protection Act a reality for all the women in states so that Roe v. Wade is in statute.”

Later, Welker asked, “Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said that if this was leaked by a justice — and we do not know who leaked this, I want to be very clear about that, and there’s an investigation into who did — … but if there is a link to a Supreme Court justice, do you agree with your Republican colleague in the Senate, Josh Hawley, that that justice should be impeached?”

Chu responded, “Well, I think we need an investigation first. We do need to know how this leak happened. Nonetheless, I think the information was important for us to know, and it just raises the alarm bell for all of us in terms of what will happen to millions of women across this country if they do not have this choice. One out of four women have had an abortion, and, in fact, my Congressmembers have had an abortion. Cori Bush had to have an abortion after being raped. Pramila Jayapal had an abortion when her life would have been threatened by the pregnancy. This is something that is part and parcel of every woman’s life, and they need to know what is at stake. We found what was happening through this leaked decision, and that means that we have to fight even harder to ensure that we have the right to determine what’s going on with our own bodies.”

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