


Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Samuel Alito took subtle jabs at each other in their opinions on the Idaho abortion decision released on Thursday.
Jackson, who dissented in part to the ruling, said the decision was “not a victory for pregnant patients in Idaho,” even though emergency rooms in Idaho will be able to carry out abortion procedures despite the state’s ban.
The newest Supreme Court justice continued, saying, “Not doing anything is problematic,” arguing the court had the opportunity “to bring clarity and certainty to this tragic situation, and we have squandered it.”
Alito responded to her dissent by arguing her opinion “adds nothing” to Justice Elena Kagan’s legal analysis.
“But she reads my opinion to suggest ‘that States have free rein to nullify federal law’ … anyone who reads my opinion can see that it makes no such suggestion but simply explains what the federal law in question means,” he wrote.
The 6-3 ruling allowed emergency abortions in Idaho but did not strike down the state’s abortion ban as Jackson would have liked, with her saying the state “law must yield” because it clearly conflicts with federal law.
“Will this Court just have a do-over, rehearing and rehashing the same arguments we are considering now, just at a comparatively more convenient point in time?” she rhetorically asked. “Or maybe we will keep punting on this issue altogether, allowing chaos to reign wherever lower courts enable States to flagrantly undercut federal law, facilitating the suffering of people in need of urgent medical treatment.”
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It’s not surprising that the two justices would clash, though Jackson does not name Alito specifically. Alito is a Republican-appointed justice, and Jackson is a Democratic-appointed one, so they are often on opposite sides on matters such as abortion.
Kagan also took a shot at Alito, saying his opinion on the Idaho ruling “requires a brief response.”