Last night, a friend of mine reached out to tell me, “I know what you’re going to be writing about tonight after the Roe vs. Wade decision broke.” After being in this business for so long, my first thought was, “Actually, that will be the LAST thing I write about because people will be talking about it EVERYWHERE.” On the other hand, this is a blog about American culture, and assuming the court actually does overturn Roe (which looks likely but is not a done deal until it’s a done deal), this will be one of the most important cultural moments of the last fifty years. So, this feels like something that deserves a column.
I don't support a woman's right to choose to have abortions as a form of birth control. One abortion as a result of a mistake or gross irresponsibility is bad enough, but to have more than one is supremely immoral and without excuse.
In the case of verifiable rape and proven incest resulting in a pregnancy abortion should be an option, preferably as early as possible.
Leftist ideologues will not be happy unless abortions are free and available no matter the age of the child.
Thanks for this column; it is a fault line in many areas of life and politics. When I was in law school, which was a very left leaning place, we studied Roe a little, but even ardent supporters of the result were hard pressed to defend the legal reasoning of finding the right to abortion in the shadow of a penumbra of an unenumerated "right to privacy" in the Constitution. The fact that the court does not have the authority, under separation of powers, to create statutes out of whole cloth is one of the reasons why controversy over the result never ended. As far as stare decisis goes, the argument that "it stood for over 50 years so it should not be overturned" is unpersuasive, unless I guess you also think that Plessy v Ferguson, ca 1896 ("separate but equal") should not have been overturned in Brown v Board of Education in 1954? America was not designed to be controlled by an all-powerful federal government, and I wonder when the 10th amendment will be remembered and invoked?
Well written and thoughtful article thank you. I believe it is true that while most Americans feel abortion is “ morally repellent” they support a woman’s right to choose. Sadly I saw a protester with a sign I Love ( in a heart ♥️) abortion. Clearly they have either not had an abortion or been thru the process. In my opinion there is nothing to “ love”. That said I support a woman’s “ right to choose. “ I was inspired to actually reread the 14 amendment and the constitution. While Roe v Wade may not be considered constitutional, ( I leave that to constitutional scholars which I’m sure arr divided due to ideology) my opinion is that has been the law of the land for fifty years and the Supreme Court should let it stand. Nothing good comes from the vibrational hurt and anger this is generating.
I don't support a woman's right to choose to have abortions as a form of birth control. One abortion as a result of a mistake or gross irresponsibility is bad enough, but to have more than one is supremely immoral and without excuse.
In the case of verifiable rape and proven incest resulting in a pregnancy abortion should be an option, preferably as early as possible.
Leftist ideologues will not be happy unless abortions are free and available no matter the age of the child.
Thanks for this column; it is a fault line in many areas of life and politics. When I was in law school, which was a very left leaning place, we studied Roe a little, but even ardent supporters of the result were hard pressed to defend the legal reasoning of finding the right to abortion in the shadow of a penumbra of an unenumerated "right to privacy" in the Constitution. The fact that the court does not have the authority, under separation of powers, to create statutes out of whole cloth is one of the reasons why controversy over the result never ended. As far as stare decisis goes, the argument that "it stood for over 50 years so it should not be overturned" is unpersuasive, unless I guess you also think that Plessy v Ferguson, ca 1896 ("separate but equal") should not have been overturned in Brown v Board of Education in 1954? America was not designed to be controlled by an all-powerful federal government, and I wonder when the 10th amendment will be remembered and invoked?
Well written and thoughtful article thank you. I believe it is true that while most Americans feel abortion is “ morally repellent” they support a woman’s right to choose. Sadly I saw a protester with a sign I Love ( in a heart ♥️) abortion. Clearly they have either not had an abortion or been thru the process. In my opinion there is nothing to “ love”. That said I support a woman’s “ right to choose. “ I was inspired to actually reread the 14 amendment and the constitution. While Roe v Wade may not be considered constitutional, ( I leave that to constitutional scholars which I’m sure arr divided due to ideology) my opinion is that has been the law of the land for fifty years and the Supreme Court should let it stand. Nothing good comes from the vibrational hurt and anger this is generating.