Monday, July 26, 2021

Roe v Wade: Could it be Overturned this year?

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Lawyers for Mississippi asked the Supreme Court last week to overturn Roe v Wade and give state legislators the authority to outlaw all abortions.

The Court has agreed to hear the case.

Could it be that in the chaos of the leftist, pro-abortion administration of Joe Biden a victory for life could occur?

Be informed, not misled.

What the Court will hear.

Lawyers for Mississippi asked the Supreme Court last Thursday to overturn Roe v Wade and give state legislators the authority to outlaw all abortions.

In May the Justices agreed to hear the state's appeal of a lower court's invalidation of a Mississippi law that would forbid abortions after 15 weeks.

In their brief filed with the Court last week, the state's lawmakers raised the stakes and argued that the right to abortion set in 1973 should be repealed entirely. 

They said that Roe v Wade was "egregiously wrong" as a matter of constitutional law and that it has proved to be hopelessly "unworkable" in practice. They point out that, in fact, more than a dozen conservative states like Mississippi want to outlaw almost all abortions.

State Attorney General Lynn Fitch asked, "Under the Constitution, may a state prohibit elective abortions before viability?"

"Yes," the A/G answered. "Why? Because nothing in constitutional text, structure, history, or tradition supports a right to abortion."

In her fairly far-reaching argument, the Los Angles Times says this argument appears to be tailored to reflect the last year's change at the high court.

The state argues that "The workable approach to accommodating the competing interests is to return the matter to legislators, not judges. Abortion policy is as suited to legislative judgment as it is unsuited to judicial refereeing...The task will be hard for legislators and the people too. But the Constitution leaves the task of debate and compromise to them."

There are now five conservatives appointed by Republican presidents who believe Roe v  Wade was wrong.

Abortion activists were shocked.  And panicked. Pro-Life people were very grateful.

Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, is among the shocked. And panicked.

"Alarm bells are ringing loudly," she says, adding, "The consequences of a Roe reversal would be devastating."

She told the LA Times, 

"Mississippi has stunningly asked the Supreme Court to overthrow Roe and every other abortion rights decision in the past five decades. Today's brief reveals the extreme  and regressive strategy, not just of this law, but of the avalanche of abortion bans and restrictions that are being passed across the country.

She said: 

"If Roe fails, half the states in the country are poised to ban abortion entirely. Women of child bearing age in the US have never known a world in which they don't have this basic right, and we will keep fighting to make sure they never will."

The National Right To Life Committee welcomed the state's action. 

"We thank Atty. Gen Fitch for standing strong for the right to life and for the right of duly elected state legislators to protect the most vulnerable among us," Carol Tobias told the press.  

Could  Roe v. Wade be defeated?

In the past, the justices have said states may not prohibit abortions before the time a fetus is viable and capable of living on its own, "which occurs about the 23rd week of a pregnancy," science tells us.

The Court could uphold the Mississippi law by ruling that a 15-week cutoff is reasonable, without going further to overturn the abortion or the so-called right to abortion.

State Attorneys General for 18 states urged the Court to hear Mississippi's appeal and signaled they too were ready to enforce new time limits on legal abortions.

Last year Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. surprised most of us pro-life conservatives by joining with the Court's 4 leftists to strike down a Louisiana law that would have closed abortion clinics if their doctors did not have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

The Court's 4 conservatives --Justices Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr., Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh---dissented.

However, since then---thanks to President Trump, Amy Coney Barrett has joined the Court. Throughout her career, she has been solidly pro-life.

By all counts, there are now 5 justices on the Supreme Court who believe Roe v Wade was wrong---constitutionally and legally.

Takeaway

The Supreme Court will probably hear this case next fall and rule on it by next spring.

Keep in mind that Mississippi is not asking that Roe v Wade be overturned. They are basically asking that the matter be referred back to the states. Each state, then, would set up its own criteria. That, however, would most likely spell the end for Roe v Wade. 

I personally hope Roe v Wade is overturned because I am pro-life and deeply believe that killing unwanted unborn babies is murder. 

Secondly, Roe should be overturned because it is a fatally flawed constitutional ruling.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.