Justice Breyer tells Colbert the Supreme Court's refusal to halt the Texas abortion was 'very, very, very, very wrong'

Justice Stephen Breyer was Stephen Colbert's main guest on Tuesday's Late Show, and Colbert asked him about the controversial new six-week abortion ban in Texas. "The big news is the court's refusal to block the Texas abortion ban law, even before they ruled on the constitutionality," he began. "You said to NPR that that decision by the court was 'very, very, very wrong.' Why only three 'verys'?" Breyer laughed. "You want to know the truth? You missed one," he said, adding that the last "very" was pretty soft.

"Putting aside the, you know, the tacit endorsement of an essential overturning of Roe in Texas, have you ever seen an example of any law of citizens being deputized to be the people to enforce it?" Colbert asked. "Texas, you know, used to have posses," Breyer said. "And if you've seen Western movies, which you have, you will know that any 10 people can get together and they can, in certain circumstance, be a posse that goes out and captures the outlaws. Well, you asked me for an example," he added.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.