A majority of
Americans, 54% to 28%, regarded the court's decision a mistake
equivalent to Citizens United and further demonstrated the folly of lifetime
appointments and the disconnect it creates with the American People, technology
and society. In another poll, 70% of the
respondents said that a woman's decision to get an abortion should be private
matter between a woman and her doctor.
The nearly 50
year old decision was based on the 14th amendment (and to a lesser extension,
the 9th amendment which serves as a "catch all" amendment) and was
based on the issue of privacy. These
same laws were used to guarantee the rights and citizenship of former slaves because
of its "citizenship clause". It is also cited to justify citizenship for
so-called "anchor babies". That is, children of illegal immigrants
born on U.S. soil.
The 14th
amendment was used in the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education which dealt with
racial discrimination under its Equal Protection Clause, and in 2015, it was
used to strike down state laws opposing mixed race and same sex marriages under
the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses.
Prior to Roe v.
Wade, each state regulated their own abortion laws. Some states were fairly
liberal, essentially allowing abortions on demand, while others restricted it
to cases of rape, incest, the life of the mother was endangered or if something
catastrophic was wrong with the child which would affect its quality of life,
while some prohibited it altogether.
It wasn't unusual for a woman to be physically injured during the
procedure, leaving them with internal injuries, infections like sepsis,
sterile, or dead.
Some women
purchased certain drugs, which caused violent cramps, bleeding, and vomiting,
from questionable sources to end their unwanted pregnancies. These drugs could
be just as deadly. Roe v. Wade was intended to end these procedures and provide safe alternatives.
The decision
ending Roe v. Wade, will again put the decision back into the hands of the
states in what's known as "trigger laws". In 26 states (including Kentucky, Tennessee,
Texas, and Missouri ), these laws will take effect immediately, while in others
there is a waiting period ranging from five to 30 days. In a few states, the
laws must be reviewed and amended if necessary before taking effect (it's worth
nothing that in some states, their abortion laws date back to the early
1930's).
The ending of
Roe v. Wade marks another serious break in the United States, which is already
deeply divided. Approximately 2/3 of Americans supported Roe v. Wade. 58% of
those polled said they hoped their state would enact more progressive abortion
laws, while 51% wanted their state to become a "safe haven" for women
seeking an abortion.
Thus, the
Supreme Court has now joined Congress and the Presidency in disregarding the
opinions of the majority of the American People. Is it any wonder that the
Supreme Court has a 25% approval rating?
As an aside, the approval rating of Congress is a dismal 20% (it was a
record low of 18% in May 2022) while Biden's is currently just 38% (VP Kamala
Harris has a rating of 35%).
It's worth
nothing that the court's decision, which many consider to be a women's issue,
came down primarily along ideological lines with the five conservative justices
(four men and one woman) voting to undo Roe v. Wade while the four liberal
justices, which included two women,
Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, dissenting ( it's worth noting that Justice
Clarence Thomas is considered the most conservative while Sonia Sotomayor is
the most liberal).
In addition, it
should be pointed out that Justice
Stephen Breyer was appointed by President Clinton, and Justices Sonia Sotomayor
and Elena Kagan were appointed by President Obama. Justice Samuel Alito,
who wrote the court's majority opinion, and Justice Clarence Thomas were
appointed by President George H. W. Bush. Chief Justice John Roberts was
appointed by President George W. Bush. President Trump appointed three—
Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Many conservatives, notably
among the Far Right, considered this to be a moral, and therefore, a religious
issue more so than a ideological one. Their argument was that abortion,
regardless of the circumstances to be morally wrong, and thus in conflict with
their religious beliefs.
There may be a grain of truth in this. The court consists of six Catholics, one Protestant, and two Jews. The lone Protestant, Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch, was raised Catholic but converted to "Catholic-lite" Episcopalianism. Justice Sotomayor, who is of Puerto Rican descent and the most liberal justice, has said that she considers herself more of a "cultural Catholic" than practicing Catholic.
The Left, on the other hand,
saw Roe v. Wade more of a economic and social issue which provided women with
the control over their body and by being a federal law, made abortion legal,
affordable, and providing a degree of safety as well as privacy.
Of course, some states, with
considerable pressure from conservative Right to Life groups, attempted to
hamstring the federal law by requiring a waiting period, mandatory pre-procedure
counseling, and viewing images of the fetus before being allowed to proceed
with the procedure.
So, what does this all mean?
Since 1973, there has been an estimated 63 million abortions performed in the United States. The
National Right to Life Committee has claimed that for every 1000 live births,
there are 193 abortions. Yet contrary to popular opinion, most of these were
not "on demand" forms of birth control as some have alleged.
The renown Guttmacher Institute
conducted an intensive study of why women had abortions found that 74% said
having a child at that time would interfere with their work, education, or
ability to take of a dependent. 73% cited economic reasons while 48% didn't
want to try to raise a child on their own. 4 in 10 said they were done with
their childbearing and didn't want any more children while 1/3 admitted that
they weren't emotionally ready to have child yet.
With Roe v. Wade becoming law
in 1973, the number of adoptions available significantly decreased, especially
among middle and upper class white women. Adoptions rose from 91,000 in 1957 to
175,000 by 1970. But by 1975, two years after Roe v. Wade, they had dropped to
130,000 and continued to drop.
Our America of 2022 is not
the same America of the 1970's. There will likely be more states willing to
allow abortions, at least at some level, than there was the years prior to Roe
v. Wade. There are more conception options available, such as the "morning
after pill", not to mention dozens of birth control devices and reversible
procedures available. If you are going to be sexual active, then you need to
take responsibility for your actions and use some form of protection. There's
now no longer any excuse not to.
However, it's not really
about birth control or even abortions is it? It comes down to who has the final
say over one's own body---the individual? The state? Or is it some group
attempting to impose its religious and moral values onto others? That, in my
opinion, is what the argument has really been about all along.
With the undoing of Roe v.
Wade, should there now be an attempt to expand this reversal of privacy and individual
choice to include birth control (as some religious groups have promised to do since they believe all forms of birth control
are "immoral"), or attempt to apply it to interracial or same sex
partnerships and marriages (which some oppose for the same reason), I think you
will see the final tear in this nation's fabric.
It's ironic that at the same time, we are seeing efforts by the Left to prohibit or further restrict gun ownership, which also comes down to a matter of privacy, personal choice, and self-protection under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. Somehow I can't see conservatives standing by and allowing it to happen, and yet isn't turnabout seen as "fair play"?
But, to be clear, I don't believe I or anyone else has the right
to tell anyone, especially a stranger whose circumstances I know nothing about
or someone of the opposite gender, what they can or can't do with their body,
regardless of whether I agree or not (otherwise, it follows that women should be able to require men to
get vasectomies for instance). I will, of course, be more than happy to give
my opinion should they ask!
Lastly, I don't believe any individual, group, or religious institution has the right to impose their religious beliefs or ideas of morality onto anyone else, particularly when they are neither married or have children. That's no different than what the Taliban has done in Afghanistan.
If you want to know more,
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Confidence in U.S. Supreme Court Sinks to Historic Low
The Religion of the Supreme Court Justices
The political leanings of the Supreme Court justices
Guttmacher Institute: Reasons U.S. women have abortions
Why So Many Women Chose Abortions Over Adoptions
New poll finds Americans oppose striking down Roe v. Wade bya 2 to 1 margin
The New England Journal of Medicine: Perilous Politics: Morbidityand Mortality in the Pre-Roe Era
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