Welcome to Midas Touch Legal AF Special edition by popular demand Ben Micellis joined by my co-host Michael Popock bringing you analysis from this morning's oral argument in the Supreme Court case dobs versus Jackson woman's health organization a direct challenge to the abortion rights precedent.

And rights precedent established by the 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe v Wade and reaffirmed by the plan parenthood versus Casey decision in 1992 Michael Popock your immediate reactions to the oral argument and the justices response there to abortion as a constitutional right previability is beyond unlife support.

There's just not going to be with the super majority conservative vote. There's just not going to be based on the oral argument that went on for almost two hours today enough votes to preserve the Roe v Wade plan parenthood versus Casey structure around the constitutional right of previability abortion full stop period.

The vote is going to break down almost the way you and I talked about it over the summer robberts based on his questioning chief justice Roberts looks like he's going to be on the side of keeping the abortion right previability in Roe v Wade and Casey but pairing it back from the present 24 weeks of the demarcation of viable versus non viable and rolling it back to Mississippi's 15 weeks.

I don't know that because he even asked lawyers on both sides but mainly the lawyer on the side of the abortion right. Why isn't 15 weeks enough. Why can't a woman get decision by the 15th week.

And so it looks like he's trying the questioning was not so much a real question for which he wanted a response it was a signal of his position to the other nine justices and more importantly or more directly a signal to the only two justices that may be in place exactly the way you and I described it the summer.

If he doesn't get gorsuch or any Coney Barrett over to his side to keep abortion but limited to 15 weeks of viability if he doesn't get those votes then it's over and it will be a no longer be a constitutional right to previability abortion it will be a state by state decision and 26 states already have geared up and ready to go to ban abortion in their state.

If they're given the green light by this US Supreme Court just this Kavanaugh asked why overturning Roe v Wade and wasn't so much a question as his position on the matter asked why overturning Roe v Wade would not be in keeping with quote the most consequential cases in the country's history including those establishing racial equality.

There are a lot of people around the rights and marriage equality as justice Kavanaugh said that's all overruled precedent Amy Coney Barrett discussed gave statements we can say they were questions but they were more statements saying that at this point women should just rather than avail themselves of a constitutional right of abortion just focus on adoption was one of the questions that she asked and she's not.

Not no not just the adoption safe havens meaning abandonment of your child without repercussions she said now that there are safe haven laws in every state allowing someone who can take an unwanted pregnancy and just donate it at the local fire department why isn't that enough why do we still need the abortion right so popok tell us where you see the votes lining up maybe go through each of the justices obviously you had so to my or Kagan.

And basically the writing was on the writing was on the walls that they knew that Roe v Wade was likely going to be overturned in this ruling and their defense to that to me seem to basically be saying okay you do that you plan on do that this institution this Supreme Court has no credibility anymore so you go ahead and do that you've destroyed the United States Supreme Court.

So maybe popok talk us through what those justices said and where the votes are lining up yeah well let's start with the vote count you've got based on the oral argument and just their past rulings in the camp that would keep Roe v Wade and Casey in place and intact allowing for previability abortions from 24 weeks below.

You have firmly rooted Stephen Breyer who led a lot of the aggressive questioning of the attorney general for Mississippi today he let off it really started with Breyer.

Then it got picked up by Sotomayor who had one of the classic Sotomayor lines today exactly what you just said Ben she said and this was a question but one of those not questions this was her declaration her line in the sand Sotomayor said well this.

Institution of the Supreme Court survive the stench that this creates in public perception that the Constitution and its reading by the Supreme Court are just political acts.

Now the sponsors of this bill the House bill in Mississippi said we're doing it because we have new justices.

The newest ban that Mississippi has put in place the six week ban the Senate sponsor said we're doing it because we have new justices on the Supreme Court.

Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts.

I mean I don't think you can put it any finer than that. So you had Kagan right behind her I mean literally follow right behind her in the questioning of the Mississippi attorney general who followed through with the same thing and focused on as the Sotomayor.

Well you say there's been advancements in medical science since Casey in 1992 that makes a piece more viable earlier what are those advances.

And he really double talked his way through I listen to the oral arguments today as I know you did he really double talked his way through it as well as advances you know you know there's there's there's there's things that show that you know that there's pain and suffering for for this entity this whatever it is prior to 24 weeks or 15 weeks or 12 weeks.

And you know Sotomayor did a good job saying you know there's on recorded science that brain dead people.

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