It’s been reported that In the case of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 22, 1973, that the U.S. Constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion.
Specifically, the Guttmacher Institute spells it out like this:
“The current U.S. Supreme Court standard holds that states may prohibit abortion after fetal viability as long as there are exceptions for the life and health (both physical and mental) of the pregnant person. Under this legal standard, viability—which can range from 24 to 28 weeks after the start of the person’s last menstrual period (LMP)—must be determined on an individual basis, and determinations of both fetal viability and the patient’s health are at the discretion of the patient’s physician. Additionally, states may not require that additional physicians confirm an attending physician’s judgment that the patient’s life or health is at risk in cases of medical emergency.”
How does an amendment about privacy equate to murdering babies in the womb? Why is that my right to privacy somehow extends to my right to privately take an infant apart? Or rather, pay a doctor to do it for me.
Well, John Kennedy, a Republican Senator from Louisiana has stated what many of have been for since the 1973 landmark decision. “…Roe v. Wade is one of the most arbitrary, it’s one of the most adhoc, it’s one of the most poorly reasoned decisions in the history of the United States.”
The Daily Caller reported that Kennedy further added that there isn’t anything in the constitution that even defines the term “trimester”, nor does it guarantee the right to an abortion through the right to privacy (which he also claims the amendment doesn’t actually do either).
While for many there will never be a valid, moral, reason to abort an unborn baby, many will at least concede that it should be up to each individual state to make decisions about abortions. This is where the current case headed to the Supreme Court, Dobbs V. Jackson, may give the justices what Kennedy called a “rare opportunity” to return that power to the states.
The Daily Caller also pointed out that Kennedy believes that it should be “the people, rather than the government, who should” make these types of decisions based on values.
“The issue for the Supreme Court in Dobbs is what’s the appropriate political forum to make these value judgements: Is it the government, or is it the people? And I hope, Mr. President, that the United States Supreme Court takes advantage of this rare opportunity before it,” Kennedy concluded.
