Barrett defends Dobbs ruling, outlines judicial philosophy in memoir

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett defends her decisive role in overturning Roe v. Wade and lays out her judicial philosophy in a forthcoming memoir, Listening to the Law, releasing Sept. 9. In excerpts published in recent reports and during a public appearance in New York, Barrett argues the 1973 abortion ruling was legally flawed, says the court should defer to democratic choices, and pushes back on portrayals of the court as partisan.

Barrett, who joined the Supreme Court in 2020 after being nominated by former President Donald Trump to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat, writes that Roe v. Wade "was an error that came at a cost," and that historical evidence does not show a longstanding constitutional right to abortion, according to an excerpt reviewed by CNN. She was one of the conservative justices who in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision allowed states to restrict abortion, voting to uphold a Mississippi law limiting abortions after 15 weeks and joining the majority that overturned Roe.

In the book and in a live interview at Lincoln Center, Barrett framed the court's role as interpreting law rather than imposing policy. "The Court's...