Conservative Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren ignited a heated round of debate, as well as anger from some fans, after making a case that overturning Roe v. Wade “would be a big mistake.”
Lahren, in a “Final Thoughts” segment on the network Saturday, argued that any attempt to overturn the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion across the U.S. would be “unlikely to succeed” and would instead further divide the nation.
She cited a recent Quinnipiac poll that found that most Americans favor keeping abortions legal.
“We lose when we start tampering with social issues,” she said. “Do we really want to fight for this, alienate Democrats, moderates and Libertarians all to lose in the end anyway? That’s a risk that I don’t think is worth taking.”
Whether Roe v. Wade could be overturned has been a hot-button topic since Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement in late June, setting the stage for President Donald Trump to nominate his replacement. Trump has said that he will reveal his nominee in a televised speech Monday night.
Lahren said she’s a person who “would personally choose life,” but that she believes “it’s not the government’s place to dictate.”
“Those are my thoughts. Feel free to disagree,” she concluded, before sharing a link to her thoughts on Twitter.
As evidenced by the responses on Twitter, many viewers embraced her invitation to disagree, with pro-life supporters expressing their upset with her comments. Others expressed their surprised agreement with her views.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated the first name of Justice Kennedy. It is Anthony.