Overturning Roe v. Wade: Why the surprise?
Anyone who thought that the Ukraine war, rampant inflation, Oscar slaps and the never-ending pandemic wasn’t enough excitement just got their wish.
Enter the Supreme Court saga affecting the biggest lightningrod issue of all: Abortion. So grab your popcorn, ‘cause we have lots to wade through. But first, a quick note: the objective of this column is to analyze aspects of the situation that are not being adequately covered — not debate abortion. Let’s get started:
1) The drama started with a leaked Supreme Court document showing that five justices are poised to overturn the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade. While Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the opinion draft, keep in mind that it is still just that — a draft. Call this author a skeptic, but I’ll believe it when I see it, since political 180s are all too common, especially with abortion. Let’s not forget that former Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey — the supposedly lifelong stalwart pro-lifer — famously vetoed the Abortion Control Act in 1987 on constitutionality grounds, a misguided justification since that wasn’t his call to make.
But while anything is possible, it’s a good bet that the draft to overturn Roe will be the final decision. After all, a conservative justice who flips to the pro-abortion side because of small but loud public pressure would face a lose-lose: distrust by the left and absolute revulsion by the right — not exactly a storybook legacy.
2) If we’re being honest — and many abortion advocates concede this point, albeit privately — Roe v. Wade was a highly suspect legal decision. A classic legislating-from-thebench maneuver, the court cited a constitutional right to privacy that didn’t exist, as it appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution. Legally, the issue should be relegated back to the states so that the will of the people — be it pro- or anti-abortion — prevails over that of unelected justices.
3) The leak, while certainly not desirable, has been vastly overblown by headline-seekers making it the latest sky-is-falling event. It is not. The integrity of the supremes is not in question, nor does it set such a dangerous precedent that the court will be “cheapened.” Hell, it’s possibly not even a crime. Obviously, the perpetrator needs to be found and fired, since a mole in any organization creates havoc. And moving forward, internal court documents need be governed by tighter security protocols. But in the age of leaks — which extends back to dawn of civilization — this ranks nowhere close to being one of the worst.
4) Even more bewildering than the leak response is that the proabortion movement, for some unknown reason, seems to have been caught off-guard. Be it naivete, complacency or aloofness, how that’s possible is anyone’s guess.
You didn’t have to be a political insider to innately understand that
Roe v. Wade was in serious jeopardy after President Trump’s three conservative nominees were confirmed, which neutered Chief Justice Roberts as the pivotal swing vote. As discussed, nothing is guaranteed, but anyone on the abortion-rights side with half a brain should have planned for the “worst” — the overturning of Roe — and considered anything less to be an unexpected victory. But given the aghast reaction of many, you’d think it was the first time they had ever contemplated the conservative court acting on Roe. That’s akin to gun-rights advocates waking up surprised that a liberal-dominated court instituted gun bans.
Abortion proponents can protest all they want — at this point, they’ve nothing to lose — but to expect anything other than Roe being overturned is folly.
5) Pro-abortion forces need to stop whining, look in the mirror and assign blame for their current predicament to the ones wholly responsible: themselves.
Two words: “Hillary lost.”
That’s it, plain and simple. In
what was supposed to be the easiest victory of all time — a slam dunk, measure-the-White-House-curtains affair — a funny thing happened. Donald Trump, along with his “deplorables,” defied the odds and won. It was a defeat so stinging, so incredulous, so baffling to Democrats that many simply couldn’t process it. Their reaction? Protest, boycott, cry, label the election “illegitimate,” stage school and work walkouts, go to counseling, claim Russian collusion, and shop for more tissues. But what they didn’t do was ask “what happened?”
In the “lessons learned” category, Democrats need to realize that their agenda would have been accomplished — including three new liberal justices on the bench — had they won the presidency and Senate in 2016. But because Hillary chose to take Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin for granted, they lost — and to the victor goes the spoils. Plain and simple, Republicans won when it mattered most. That’s politics. If you don’t like it, don’t play.
6) Once again, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demonstrated her aloofness by stating that the draft opinion “slapped women in the face” and was “disrespectful of women.” By making such sweeping statements, Ms. Pelosi is forgetting — or simply doesn’t realize — that the pro-life movement is comprised of millions upon millions of women. Taking a position is one
thing, but it’s nothing short of pure arrogance to assume that an entire constituency agrees with her — especially on abortion. Truth is, prolife ranks are not all chauvinistic white men, as some critics love to say, but women and men of all colors, creeds, incomes and ethnicities.
The real slap in the face is to the entirety of the American people — no matter where one stands on abortion — because the country’s third-most powerful official chooses incorrect assumptions and hurtful labels over responsible leadership. Then again, what else should we expect from the tone-deaf Ms. Pelosi, given that she showcased her $24,000 (yes, twenty-four thousand) freezer full of $13 pints of gourmet ice cream during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic — while millions were losing everything. Some things never change.
7) Not to be outdone, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell also put his foot in his mouth, giving the Dems a chance to possibly mitigate expected election losses this November.
Instead of just keeping quiet and letting the Roe v. Wade chips fall where they may, he blurted that, should the GOP win control of Congress, “it’s possible” that Republicans could attempt to enact a national abortion ban. Truly mindboggling that a guy in his position could say something like that.
First, that’s putting the cart before the horse, since no decision has been made. Second, his statement is counterproductive because A) it garners no additional pro-life votes, since pro-lifers are already voting Republican; B) it scares Republican-leaning suburban women (the swing voters who decide all elections) into thinking the GOP will become extremist if it comes into power; and C) a federal ban goes against the conservative philosophy of “power to the people” — that Americans are better served when decision-making power occurs at the state — rather than national — level.
8) Several years ago, this column called for more protection for Supreme Court justices, given the nation’s ultra-polarized political environment and huge stakes involved.
Thankfully, such protections have just been enacted, and for good reason. While many protesters are civil, more and more are crossing the line. If you want to express your opinion to justices Kavanaugh or Alito, do it outside the Supreme Court building — not at their personal homes where spouses and children reside. But that’s exactly what is occurring. No one should ever, ever, be permitted to protest at a politician or judge’s home, so why police haven’t forcibly removed those people — given that they are illegally impeding traffic and commerce — remains a mystery.
Likewise, violence cannot be tolerated, such as the reported arson attack of an anti-abortion office in Wisconsin this week, along with the spray-painted threat: “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.”
This isn’t a banana republic. Violence, threats and protests based on intimidation cannot, under any circumstances, be tolerated. If we allow mob rule to supersede the rule of law — no matter where we stand on the issues — then abortion will be the least of our worries.