Nancy Pelosi rejects critiques of Democrats being unprepared for GOP 'long-game' on abortion: 'We won Roe v. Wade a long time ago'

Speaker Nancy Pelosi addresses reporters during an abortion rights press conference on the steps of the US Capitol. — US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks in front of the steps to the House of Representatives with congressional members to speak on the Roe v. Wade issue May 13, 2022 in Washington, DC.
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Nancy Pelosi called the Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices "dangerous" and "anti-freedom."
Their campaign to overturn Roe v. Wade puts other rights at risk, she said.
"We have to fight the fight on this issue now," Pelosi told CNN.

Democrats weren't caught off-guard on preserving abortion rights. They were lied to by the "anti-freedom" justices Trump and GOP leaders placed on the Supreme Court, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday.

"This is not about long-game. We played a long game. We won Roe v. Wade a long time ago," Pelosi told CNN "State of the Union" host Dana Bash when asked about the decades-long effort to overturn the landmark 1973 court decision.

—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 15, 2022

The issue, Pelosi said, was believing the conservative judges then-President Donald Trump added to the high court — including Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — would abide by the settled law instead of seeking to rewrite history.

"This is a dangerous court to families, to freedom in our country," Pelosi said. She added that the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in the pending abortion rights case, Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization, will likely lead to the erosion of marriage equality and other existing rights.

Senate Democrats failed to codify the abortion rights in Roe v. Wade on May 11, falling well short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster rules. The House passed its version of the Women's Health Protection Act in September.

Pelosi, who is supporting anti-abortion Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas in his reelection bid, said she'd like to see the abortion question settled ahead of the midterm elections this fall.

"We have to fight the fight on this issue now," she said. Should it carry over into November, she added "that is why people have to mobilize."

Read the original article on Business Insider