Deb Messling wrote: > Actually, here's how it works: the states, not the Federal government, > regulate abortion. But as long as Roe vs Wade is the law of the land, > states cannot prohibit abortion, any more than they can pass a law > establishing a religion or banning a book. If an anti-abortion justice is > appointed to the Court, and Roe is overturned, then the states would be > free to prohibit abortion. Not all states would. New York, bless its > heart, legalized abortion on its own, about a year before the Roe > decision. But I am confident that many, many states would very happily > step in to prohibit abortion if they were constitutionally empowered to do > so. Pennsylvania would; I'm sure of it >
Deb, excellent short summary. Michigan would also probably move to eliminate choice. The Court now stands 5-4 to uphold Roe v Wade, as has been the votes in recent choice decisions. If the court was presented with a clear chance to overturn Roe v Wade, the vote would be: Overturn: Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy Uphold: Ginsburg, Breyer, Stevens, Souter, O'Connor Justice Giunsburg has had cancer. Justice Stevens cannot live forever. Justice O'Connor indicated her desire to resign under a Bush administration. A change of one vote, and Roe v Wade is gone. The anti-choice or Right to Life groups, whatewver term, control the state Republican parties in many states. (That is not a value judgment per se, but simple fact. Labor controls state Dem parties in many states. These groups turn out their members in the primaries and go to the party functions.) Bush will appoint an anti-choice candidtae to the Supreme Court if he has an opportunity. Bush has made that clear, and his primary and general election campaign was heavily dependent on the Right to Life in the various states. This will be the quid pro quo. Of course Roe v Wade can be overturned. Plessey v Ferguson was overturned (for the good, I might add). Anything can be overturned by the court at any time. It will just take one more vote. This is exactly why Right to Life worked so hard in the last election - the chance to get the next Supreme Court slot and overturn Roe v Wade. The battle lines in a 50-49-1 Senate are going to be amazing. Not every Republican Senator is anti-choice, not every Democratic senator is pro-choice. The next nomination will be crucial for choice and will make the Bork nomination fight look like a genteel tea party. (the Rev) Vince, a member of many pro-choice groups
