By now, everyone is aware of perhaps the biggest Supreme Court decision of our lifetime - the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Unlike others on social and mainstream media, I don't claim to be a legal scholar, let alone a Constitutional scholar.
But I do have a few thoughts.
Firstly, for those who believe in a woman's right to choose the abortion path...it is important to understand that this recent Supreme Court decision does NOT ban abortions. The flaming rhetoric on social media about women going back to being barefoot and pregnant and that our nation is re-creating The Handmaid's Tale is simply untrue.
What HAS happened is that the Supreme Court has now deemed that the 1973 decision was based on a flawed Constitutional interpretation, and that the Constitution is silent on the issue of abortion.
Here is what Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the court's majority opinion: "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 Fourteenth Amendment."
The Constitution is THE guiding legal document for our country. Since there is no implicit right to abortion conferred by the Constitution, the decision on whether to legalize it has now been returned to the states-- and voters-- where the Constitution, by virtue of the Tenth Amendment, says it belongs.
No matter how you feel about abortion, this decision is the correct one if we want to maintain a democratic republic based on the rule of law.
The progressive left is screaming that this is the END of democracy. But how can it possibly be the end of democracy if the issue of abortion is returned to the voters? If the voters want abortions, they can vote to legalize them. If they don't, they can vote against them. Isn't this precisely what democracy IS?
The paradox is that the left uses "threats to democracy" only when it suits their narrative. Take the January 6 hearings, for example. In the words of the left and the mainstream media, January 6th, 2020, was "the day democracy died." The J6 hearings are all about the inciting of an "insurrection."
But when the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was handed down, pandemonium broke out around the country. The politicians who are pointing fingers and holding a show trial over January 6th, are now the very same ones inciting violence and calling for insurrection. Just listen to Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:
And here is Democrat Representative Maxine Waters saying, "To hell with the Supreme Court. We will DEFY them!"
Is it fair to ask who is organizing and funding these protests? Should there be an inquiry into whether this is inciting "insurrection?" Who had all the signs printed and ready to hand out to the protestors?
Another overused mantra of the left is that the overturning of Roe v. Wade violates the precedent of "bodily autonomy"--in other words, "My body. My choice." Yet, these are the same people who demanded that everyone be FORCED to inject an experimental vaccine into their bodies or face losing their jobs.
Even world leaders are weighing in. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada tweeted this:
Justin Trudeau's government didn't allow it's own unvaccinated citizens to travel within their own country. So, it appears that Justin Trudeau IS perfectly happy telling women what they can and cannot do with their bodies.
Another interesting thing to note is that Joe Biden blames the ruling on three justices appointed by Donald Trump that "upended the scales of justice."
However, Biden has flopped like a fish on abortion:
Progressives are pretty adept at calling every conservative, or conservative policy, "racist." But, somehow, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas unleashes their inner Ku Klux Klan. Some of the most vile and filthy epithets directed at Justice Thomas are left to trend unfettered on social media. The use of the "n-word" is used without impunity. "Field n*****," "Porch m**key," "Uncle Tom," are trending phrases. Even African-American actor, Samuel L. Jackson is attacking Justice Thomas, using a race-based slur. Why aren't these people being censored or banned for “hate speech” on social media? And aren't these the same far-left "social justice warriors" who claim to be the champions of racial minorities?
Another thing that the left seems to have forgotten is that their Supreme Court liberal icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was NOT in favor of Roe v. Wade. She believed it was a bad court decision. But that seems to be lost on the abortion activist group, "Ruth Sent Us." This is also the same group who suggested targeting Justice Amy Coney Barrett's kids.
And now the left is even blaming Ruth Bader Ginsburg for dying! That's right. The "Notorious RBG" (as the liberals have dubbed her) is being posthumously thrown under the bus for not retiring while Barack Obama was still president. They're asking why she waited to pass away during Trump's presidency; because that, then, led to the appointment of conservative justice, Amy Coney Barrett.
SO. The states are now in the legal spotlight. Thirteen states already had "trigger laws" on the books that would ban abortions if, and when, Roe v. Wade was overturned. Some states, like New York and California, are setting themselves up to be abortion "sanctuary states," and are openly welcoming those seeking abortions.
California and New York are promoting "abortion tourism" by encoding into law the right to an abortion for the full nine months and INCLUDING killing a baby up to 28 days after birth. I have to ask...is post-birth abortion really about "women's health" and their "right to choose?"
Canada, which has no legal restrictions on abortion, could also become an abortion safe haven.
There are numerous non-profit abortion access groups willing to help those seeking abortions by providing travel options such airline tickets, volunteer pilots and lodging.
Companies such as Disney, Dick's Sporting Goods and a host of others have already said they will pay the expenses of their team members who need to travel for an abortion. Again, I have to ask...do these companies sincerely care about their employees, or is it about the bottom line? Could it be that it is cheaper to spend a few thousand dollars for abortion travel expenses instead of paying all the associated costs (e.g., medical, family leave, dependent insurance coverage) for a pregnancy and birth?
Finally, is all this hyperventilating and tearing of hair by leftist politicians, Hollywood elites, social media, and mainstream media as big as it seems? Maybe not. Some pollsters and analysts think that abortion may not be the hot-button issue Democrats think it is.
But, regardless of all this, where do we go from here??
We are now more deeply divided than ever, and I believe things are about to get much more complicated. Elected state representatives must now navigate the mine fields of abortion and its associated moral issues, and legislate the will of their voters. Election integrity and voter ID issues have just become EXTREMELY critical.
I don't know how any of this will be resolved. But what I do know is that violence, intimidation, vandalism, death threats, and name-calling is NOT the answer--THAT is when democracy dies.
The only option we have is to listen to each other and try to gain some understanding. Everyone deserves to be heard. With compassion and peaceful coexistence, we may just be able to keep our country from coming apart at the seams.
"A house divided against itself cannot stand ."
-Abraham Lincoln
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