Retired Supreme Court Justice Kennedy, a Catholic, tries to justify upholding abortion

Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is currently promoting his new memoir, and shared in a recent interview why he ruled in favor of abortion in a high-profile case, despite considering himself to be a "devout" Catholic.

Key Takeaways:

• Anthony Kennedy served as an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court from 1988 until his retirement in 2018.

• Kennedy describes himself as a "devout" Catholic.

• Despite this, he attempts to explain why he ruled in favor of legalized abortion in a landmark case that upheld Roe v. Wade.

The Details:

Kennedy has written a new memoir, "Life, Law and Liberty," and in a recent interview with CBS News, he discussed some of his previous cases, including Planned Parenthood v. Casey.

In the 1992 case, Kennedy sided with liberal justices to uphold Roe v. Wade, albeit while allowing states to place some restrictions on abortion.

He said that while he may not personally support abortion, he believed he didn't have to right to prevent someone from ending a preborn child's life by abortion.

"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," he said.

Catholics need to know the truth: Being an accessory to abortion is evil

Current Supreme Court justices voted to overturn Roe in 2022, with the majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito. He wrote that Roe was "egregiously wrong," and that Kennedy's opinion in Casey was likewise decided poorly, as it "perpetuated its [Roe's] errors."

Yet Kennedy was unfazed. "I stand by what we wrote and what we decided," he said. "It's a difficult issue."

Why It Matters:

As Live Action founder and president Lila Rose explained upon Kennedy's retirement, in Casey, Kennedy failed to uphold the most basic constitutional right: the right to life. She said:

The right to life is the foundation for all other human rights — without life, no other rights can be enjoyed. It is the job of government to secure the basic human rights of its people, especially for those that are the most vulnerable. Science is crystal clear that an individual, unique human life begins at the moment of fertilization, and morality and justice compel us to protect every human life from his or her first moment of existence.

Justice Kennedy’s opinions in subsequent abortion cases showed that he supported Roe while neglecting to affirm the most basic human right of life. An opportunity to appoint a new justice to the court may mean restored constitutional protections for all human beings, born and unborn.

Furthermore, the Catholic Church is solidly pro-life, and has been so since its inception. As the Catechism explains, "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law."

The Bible is also clear about protecting innocent human life, including preborn life.

The Didache, the Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles, is one of the earliest known Christian documents, and it speaks against abortion as well, writing, "You shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill a child once born.”

The Bottom Line:

Kennedy cannot, in good faith, boast that he is a devout Catholic while also arguing in favor of the supposed "right" to take an innocent person's life.