On The Reid Out, Joy Reid introduces us to a lovely English chap from the 17th century named Sir Matthew Hale. A barrister, judge, and jurist, Hale was responsible for such arguments as the fact that witches must be real because there were laws against them and that it was impossible for a husband to rape his wife. And, of course, he was vehemently against abortion.
Hale was responsible for the 1662 judgement that sent two women accused of witchcraft to their deaths. The case would serve as inspiration for the Salem witch trials. His ideas on rapeless marriage were the law of the land in England until 1991 and have continued to be cited in court as recently as 2009.
In Justice Alito's leaked draft SCOTUS opinion on overturning Roe v Wade, he felt it worth citing the work of this "great common-law authority" nine times. That's nine citations in a 98-page document.
Republic of Gilead, I am in you!
Image: John Michael Wright — Public Domain
