It is widely reported that, as expected, the Supreme Court has today overturned the Roe v Wade decision that claimed to find the right of abortion in our Constitution, which document never mentions the practice. It is important to be clear about what this decision means.
It does not mean a Federal ban on abortion, although many reactions would have you believe that canard. What the ruling does is find that abortion is one of the many topics (including murder) which are subject to state legislation.
As a consequence, there will be states where the procedure is legal, states where it is sometimes legal, and states where it is never legal. The battle moves from Washington DC to state capitals where state legislatures will decide.
The really finicky bits will be efforts by some legislatures to penalize their citizens who choose to go to another state to obtain an abortion, and any who assist them to do so. It is even possible that extraditions will be attempted and resisted.
Believe it or not, expect the interstate commerce clause to become an issue in this tussle. And efforts to circumvent it with private party lawsuits as has been attempted in TX.
One thing seems clear, the days when the Supreme Court could be counted on to provide “rights” that a minority of people wanted us to have, when legislatures wouldn’t enact them, are over. At least that is so with the current court membership.
Downstream, one can wonder to what extent the present “originalist” court will undo other decisions which discovered “rights” in the constitution which the framers never considered or mentioned. Will they stop here or forge ahead unspooling the Warrren and Burger court legacies? I’m guessing a halt, at least for now.
Expect trouble tonight, and maybe all weekend. The gnashing of teeth in the media will be cacophonous. Don’t we live in interesting times?
