By Dave Andrusko
Another day has come and gone with no Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Women’s Health Care Organization. The next day the Supreme Court is scheduled to announce its decisions is Thursday. The Court will finish up any remaining cases next week.
Everybody, including us, is speculating what the Justices will do. Will they adhere to the broad outlines of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion which called for the 1973 Roe and the 1992 Casey decisions to be “overruled”? As Justice Alito wrote
The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision – including the one on which the defenders of Roe and Casey now chiefly rely: the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. That provision has been held to guarantee some rights that are not mentioned in the Constitution, but any such right must be “deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition” and “implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.” The right to abortion does not fall within this category.
Reuters offered its two cents worth today with “Explainer: What’s at stake in U.S. Supreme Court abortion case?”
There is some speculation pro-lifers will find encouraging and some not. By and large, it’s a fair story, except for the final paragraph.
This is the bogeyman scenario which suggests that “Some legal experts said that a ruling overturning Roe” could “imperil other freedoms.” This in spite of Justice Alito’s explicit statement that Dobbs is about abortion only and no other issue.
Reuters looked not just at what Justice Alito said in the leaked draft opinion but also at what the justices asked on December 1:
Based on December’s oral arguments, it appeared the conservative majority was leaning toward upholding the Mississippi law, which would at a minimum gut the central holding of Roe that said states cannot ban abortion pre-viability.
The leaked draft opinion indicated the court could overturn Roe v. Wade altogether. In either scenario, states that want to restrict or ban abortion would have much more leeway to do so, although a total reversal of Roe would make it a lot easier for them.
But half-way through the story, we are reminded of the gigantic impact pro-life President Donald Trump’s appointments to the Court has had:
Trump’s appointments – Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and Amy Coney Barrett in 2020 – are all likely to be in the majority if the court overturns Roe.
Thank you, President Trump!