Progressives’ Supreme Court Victories Will Be Fleeting

In several big-ticket cases this term, the conservative Supreme Court appeared to give significant wins to progressives. On issues including abortion, immigration, and LGBTQ equality, a majority of the Court voted for seemingly progressive results. And in the subpoena cases issued on the last day of the term, the Court rejected the president’s sweeping argument that his personal financial records are off-limits to Congress and state grand juries. But on closer inspection, these opinions and others actually gave conservatives some important wins as well.

One of the most crucial apparent victories for progressives came in the . The Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s restrictive abortion law that would have required all abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of where they perform abortions. Four years ago, in , the Supreme Court invalidated the same law when Texas enacted it.