Friday’s decision Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization it is a victory for America, democracy, the Constitution, women, and, yes, the pro-life movement in all its wild diversity and unrelenting spirit, as well as for human rights movements in general.
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood is a victory for America, which is now no longer one of the the very few countries in the world that allow abortion throughout the pregnancy for any reason. Yes, many states will continue to allow legal abortion under some or all conditions. But now one of the most powerful, prosperous and free nations in the world no longer regards the “right” to destroy unborn human beings as a fundamental freedom. This shows that a country can be powerful but humane.
It is a victory for democracy. The Dobbs majority convincingly demonstrates that five members of the Supreme Court have no right to read their own biases on abortion into a document that belongs to the people. The people ratified the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. At the time of the passage of the 14th Amendment, the alleged foundation for abortion rights invented in Roe and Casey, and for every year until Roe, people voted in their state legislatures to ban most or all abortions. It is impossible, then, for a Supreme Court to say that the popular understanding of “freedom” has ever included a right to abortion that could be interpreted as the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of “freedom.” If the people want a constitutional right to abortion , you can vote to place it in the Constitution. Until then, no judge can invent one.
It is a victory for human life not because Dobbs promises constitutional protections for unborn human beings, but because, for the first time in 49 years, citizens have an opportunity to effectively argue to protect that life and try to convince the majority of his fellow citizens. . Since Roe, no such argument has been allowed a chance to win.
It is a victory for women, who have been increasingly pressured to live as if their natural ability to have children and their desire to raise them are disabilities. A disability that affects your potential for education. A disability that impairs your economic and employment opportunities. A disability respecting their total social equality. No. American society, including our economy, must now be required to face the fact that women become pregnant and need help and support at that time and throughout their childbearing. It is a scandal that so many American institutions, especially corporations, act as if all women should model the “ideal male worker” and come to the public square free from childcare responsibilities.
It is a victory for the relentless efforts of pro-life scholars for more than 49 years. This body of scholarship never simply kicked the bucket and demanded that everyone adopt a moral respect for unborn life. He argued the biological case for their humanity and their right not to be killed. He discussed the history and meaning of the “freedom” clause of the 14th Amendment. He argued that traditional judicial respect for past precedent (stare decisis) could not be applied to past decisions that are flagrantly wrong, legally unenforceable, and totally unenforceable. devoid of respect for the text of the Constitution, for history and for precedents. Today, the majority opinion in Dobbs, based on this impressive academic treasure, vindicates these 49 years of effort.
Ultimately, it is a victory for the diverse and underfunded pro-life movement, as well as all human rights movements, such as the cause of abolition, which pressed forward in the face of relentless opposition. Millions of American women and men have brought us to this day. Be it the major pro-life organizations or smaller ones representing Democrats, pro-life feminists, non-violence activists, gays and lesbians, and hundreds of other groups.
Despite opposition from pro-abortion billionaire funders, the mainstream media, academia, the entertainment industry, and popular culture never gave up. May other human rights movements take heart from this day and persist in their own victories.
Helen Alvaré is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Robert A. Levy Professor of Law and Liberty at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law.
Reference-thehill.com