In this special on-going series, which began last week, National Right to Life President and Pro-Life Perspective host Carol Tobias is taking a look at many of the major Supreme Court decisions that have affected the fight for life in the United States. Last week’s five-part series (which you can listen to at www.prolifeperspective.com) addressed the following cases:
Monday – Abortion & The Court: US v. Vuitch
In 1969, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found the District’s criminal abortion statute (first enacted by Congress in 1901 and amended in 1953) to be unconstitutionally vague. It was the first time a federal court found an existing abortion law unconstitutional.
Tuesday – Abortion & The Court: Roe v. Wade, Part 1
Wednesday – Abortion & The Court: Roe v. Wade, Part 2
One of the most infamous Supreme Court decisions in history, Roe v. Wade stripped away all legal protections for unborn children from the laws of the 50 states in what Associate Justice Byron White called an “exercise of raw judicial power.”
Thursday – Abortion & The Court: Doe v. Bolton
The companion case to Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton’s definition of “health” gave way to abortion on demand for any reason – even as a method of birth control.
Friday – Abortion & The Court: Bellotti v. Baird
In its 1979 Bellotti v. Baird decision, the Court dictated the provisions necessary to make parental involvement laws “constitutional” in the context of Roe’s absolute “right” to abortion. This gave rise to “judicial bypass” regulations in many state parental involvement laws.
In weeks to come Mrs. Tobias will return to probe further into the Supreme Court’s abortion jurisprudence.