A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found a majority of Americans disagree with President-elect Donald Trump on certain key issues, including abortion. The survey said U.S. voters support the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision by a margin of 67 to 30 percent.
During a recent interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, Trump said that abortion would play a role in his first Supreme Court justice appointment.
"I’m pro-life," he said. "The judges will be pro-life."
Trump went on to say that if Roe were overturned it would "go back to the states."
Akhil Reed Amar, professor at Yale Law School, said on WNPR's Where We Live that Roe has been repeatedly reaffirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
"On the other hand, we have to remember that the Supreme Court has the right, indeed sometimes the duty, to overrule itself if it thinks that earlier cases were mistaken," said Amar. "Were President Trump to get another nomination after filling the current vacancy, [we] should expect that Roe is on the table, up for grabs. That’s the reality."
Still, Amar said if the court were to weaken Roe, he is not sure it would make a big difference in Connecticut.
"The Connecticut legislature will decline the invitation that a court might offer to turn back," he said. "Remember none of the conservatives on the court are saying that you have to prohibit abortion. They believe only that a state legislature can choose to do so. Well, lots of state legislatures in blue America will choose not to do so."
But Amar said that would likely be different in conservative states.
