SCOTUS ABORTION Ruling – What Happens Next?
(RightWing.org) – For 50 years, Conservatives played the long game. They worked diligently to create the opportunity that the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) realized on Friday, June 24. In 1973, the SCOTUS ruled that abortion was a Constitutional right. Yet, Republicans argued that the Constitution never granted such a right. For certain, it never mentions abortion. So, are Liberals right that this little fact doesn’t matter?
What is found in the Constitution are strong principles of separation of powers and state’s rights. If one listened to the media coverage over the weekend, it sounded like the SCOTUS overturned an established law. Yet, that’s not what happened at all. Instead, conservative justices laid out in their ruling that the 1973 court overstepped its Constitutional boundaries and legislated from the bench in violation of the 10th Amendment.
SCOTUS Returns Abortion to the People
To understand the 213-page ruling, one must first understand the Constitution and what the 1973 court established. In the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments), the Constitution lays out what the government cannot do and establishes specific liberties. The government can’t restrict your free speech or your right to protest against it. It can’t dictate your worship. The government must ensure you know why police are arresting you, etc.
It also establishes the separation of powers in creating a legislative, executive, and judicial branch.
Then, there’s the 10th Amendment:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
This deliberate Constitutional amendment establishes restraint on the federal government and says all powers not explicitly granted to it are reserved to the states. It’s called federalism and is extremely important to the SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe. It’s why the states have power over education, health services, and public safety. The reality is that the states control much of the rules you live by, not the federal government.
What the high court did was transfer Roe as an improperly decided judicial ruling to the people to settle in the political process. It’s the exact opposite of judicial activism.
Supreme Court Cannot Make Law
In 1973, the SCOTUS decision was not a review of the law but rather an opinion. Judge Harry Blackmun even stated that he “preferred” Congress to codify abortion in law but wrote the court’s decision as if it were a law created by a legislature.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the ruling overturning Roe that the 1973 decision was a “scheme” that looked like legislation. As such, it was the greatest weakness of the ruling. The Supreme Court does not write laws it can unilaterally impose on the country from the bench. Yet, that’s what Roe did.
So, the SCOTUS righted the ship by noting that the 10th Amendment applies in this case. It did not outlaw abortion nationally. What the justices did was send it back to the states to decide — where it Constitutionally belongs. In accordance, the states may enact all the laws they want or none.
The Constitution doesn’t grant the power to the court to decide a new right not codified in the Constitution. If America wants a new right, then it should move to add a Constitutional Amendment.
So, is the case closed?
Yes and no. Cases are never really closed. A future Supreme Court could overturn this court.
The question is, would it be following the rule of law if it did?
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