The Role of Judicial Ideology in Supreme Court Decisions on Reproductive Rights

Author: Emma Walker

Field of Study: Philosophy, Politics and Law

Program Affiliation: Source Project Research Program

Faculty Mentors: Wendy Martinek

Easel: 21

Timeslot: Midday

Abstract: This paper examines why some Supreme Court justices vote in favor of reproductive rights while others vote against them in the post-Roe era. Existing scholarship on judicial behavior, particularly the attitudinal model, argues that justices’ ideological preferences strongly influence decisions, though professional background may shape how they interpret constitutional rights. The paper argues that justices’ pre-Court ideological orientations and professional experiences help explain variation in voting behavior in reproductive-rights cases. To test this argument, the study analyzes Supreme Court voting data using binary vote coding from the Supreme Court Database, Segal–Cover ideology scores to measure ideology, and Tate’s index to measure prosecutorial background. The analysis expects that more liberal justices are more likely to vote in favor of reproductive rights, while conservative justices and those with prosecutorial backgrounds are more likely to vote against them. These findings contribute to understanding how ideology and experience shape Supreme Court decision-making.