The South Dakota legislature has passed a bill to ban abortion. Governor Mike Rounds is expected to sign the measure. I long for the day that abortion is banned in this country, but I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this bill.
On the one hand, I have serious doubts about the sincerity of many of the politicians who claim to be pro-life. I suspect that many politicians say that they are pro-life to win primaries but are unwilling or afraid to actually vote to ban abortion. They are all too comfortable to hide behind Roe vs. Wade. I'm glad to see that in South Dakota, at least, this isn't true.
On the other hand, I have to wonder if the proponents of this bill really know what they are doing. I want abortion to be banned as much as they do, but will this bill actually aid that goal?
It will probably take about ten seconds for this bill to be struck down by the federal courts. If South Dakota planned to tell the federal courts to mind their own business, and resist the unconstitutional infringement on its state sovereignty, I'd be all for it. But instead, the plan seems to be to challenge Roe vs. Wade at the Supreme Court.
The proponents of this bill seem to hold a very serious conceptual error. They seem to think that the Supreme Court simply made an error in judgment in Roe, and if presented with better, more compelling arguments, it will reverse itself.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The Supreme Court doesn't decide cases based on what the law says, it decides what it wants to happen and then constructs plausible-sounding arguments to justify its decision. Sometimes, it throws in some references to the Constitution for good measure.
What are the chances that our current Supreme Court will overturn Roe? There are (at most) four anti-Roe votes. Overturning Roe would require Anthony Kennedy to change his mind again (unlikely), or John Paul Stevens leaving the Court and being replaced by a pro-life judge (possible, but I wouldn't count on it).
I don't question the dedication of the sponsors of this bill. However, zeal is not sufficient to win a battle. You also need good strategy. If I were in the South Dakota legislature, I would probably have voted for this bill. But I can't help but wonder whether passing it is a wise choice.
1 comment:
It is a tough deal. If they challenge the Supreme Court and it fails, the anti-life left will be jumping with joy as it will be the second time they've won in the highest court in the land. But on the other hand we could put an end to this unjust decision. At least we're seeing a whole state stand up for what it right and I think that's great.
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