Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has defended his decisions on abortion and gay marriage, despite being a devout Catholic, in a new interview this week.
Speaking to CBS about his new memoir, “Life, Law & Liberty,” to be published Tuesday by Simon & Schuster, Justice Kennedy said he almost retired from the court over the 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, which reaffirmed a woman’s right to abortion.
Despite being a devout Catholic, Justice Kennedy ultimately sided with the liberal wing of the court to uphold a woman’s ability to terminate a pregnancy.
“It just seemed to me that this was the woman’s right, and that what people of my belief should do is to convince her not to have the abortion, to convince her … but that she should have the right,” Justice Kennedy said.
Known as the court’s swing vote during his tenure on the bench, Justice Kennedy also wrote a major decision in 2015 legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in Obergefell v. Hodges.
“Someone told me it passed the refrigerator test, [which means] if there’s something that’s interesting and well-written, you put it on your refrigerator,” Justice Kennedy said.
The Roman Catholic Church opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.
Currently, though, there’s a petition pending at the Supreme Court requesting the justices overturn that 2015 decision. It would take four justices to vote in favor of hearing the case for oral arguments to be scheduled on that issue.
In 2022, the court did reverse Justice Kennedy’s position on abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which sent the issue of abortion back to the states to regulate. It overturned the 1992 Planned Parenthood precedent along with the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade.
“I stand by what we wrote and what we decided. It’s a difficult issue,” said Justice Kennedy, 89.
He retired from the court in 2018 and was replaced by Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee. He had served on the high court since 1988 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan. He retired after three decades on the bench.
One reason Justice Kennedy said he wrote his new book is because he is worried about ethics and civility.
“I’m concerned,” Justice Kennedy told CBS. “Democracy presumes an open, rational, thoughtful, decent discussion where you respect the dignity of the person with whom you disagree. And if it doesn’t have that, then democracy as we know it is in danger.”
