• Home
  • Blog
  • Contact
The Screaming Moderate

Abortion. Complicated? Or not?

6/25/2022

1 Comment

 
The U.S. Supreme Court throwing out the precedent-setting Roe v. Wade ruling obviously draws strong feelings on both sides of the issue.  Some say is a complicated issue.

Many of us grew up believing that the Court would never take away a right it had in the past “given” to the American people, or ruled constitutional. And, if abortion has a moral aspect to it, I always viewed that as a religious aspect, and the Constitution grants us freedom of religion. Or to believe in nothing if you choose.

All the talk about Roe being decided badly by prior courts is balderdash.

Subsequent courts reaffirmed the decision which was, by the way, a ruling made nearly 50 years ago by a court majority comprised of seven votes, five of whom were nominated by Republican presidents.

Ironic, in a sense, that yesterday’s decision to toss out that precedent was made by five justices nominated by Republican presidents. Interesting looking at life through America’s 2022 political lens and how different the Republican Party is from itself 50 years ago, or even 15 years ago.

The decision also demonstrates that America, which is a democracy -- majority rules -- now is governed almost completely by a minority:


  • The justices who voted to throw out Roe, were nominated by Republican presidents, most of whom were elected without winning the popular vote.
  • A strong majority of Americans (Democrats and Republicans) opposed throwing out Roe but a minority of Americans won the day.
  • A minority of one (Sen. Mitch McConnell) held up President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland,  until an election could take place which chose a Republican, who McConnell knew would appoint a justice he supported, one that would vote to overthrow Roe.
  • Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who voted for Justice Neal Gorsuch, a key player in the Roe decision, is the single vote (for the most part) controlling legislation on the Democratic side these days.
  • The minority in America supported the other Supreme Court decision last week approving the carrying of concealed weapons.

Sens. Manchin and “moderate” Republican Susan Collins of Maine have said they were “misled” by nominees for the court who strongly implied, and some would say outright said, they were not the types to overthrow precedent or Roe.

But those justices were exactly that type when judgement day came.

Did they lie when they testified to Congress? Many nominees in their confirmation hearings hedge the truth, by a lot. Now, nominees’ answers are “nuanced,” to say the least.

If Collins and/or Manchin, or others, think the nominees lied in their Congressional hearings, they should file articles of impeachment against the justice(s) rather than whine they were “misled.” This is much too big a deal to whine and not investigate your options.

Justice Clarence Thomas, key to the decision we got, said that there are other rights we have under the Constitution and Court rulings that should be reviewed. Like same-sex marriage. Like access to contraceptives. Like same-sex relationships.

Republican colleagues of his went out of their way to say this decision did not presage overturning other “rights.” Um hmm.

One precedent Thomas neglected to mention is Loving v. Virginia which holds that the Court ruled laws banning interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses. Thomas is in an interracial marriage. He is married to Ginny Thomas whose role in former President Trump’s coup attempt is still being investigated. Think he’ll upend his marriage by ruling it unconstitutional?

Curious, too, that Thomas rarely spoke in Court hearings and never asked questions. Until he was in the majority. Now you can’t shut him up.

Most importantly, different religions treat abortion in different ways. The Constitution - in it's original wording (no interpretation required) gives us all freedom of religion. Some religions believe abortion is wrong and contrary to the teachings of their religion. They clearly are among the minority that wanted Roe overthrown.

Other religions, though, don’t teach that.

For example, the Jewish Talmud, the text most central to Jewish law, states that a fetus is “mere water” and not granted person-hood until birth.

That belief doesn’t hold that everyone must adhere to it. Clearly other religions beliefs must be respected. But the Jewish belief, too, must be respected as much as those religions who ban abortion in the free America we know and love(d). 

If we are to have freedom of religion, then choice in abortions is the right American law:

Choose it if you want. Don’t choose if you don’t.

Overall, not really that complicated.


1 Comment
Roberta R
6/26/2022 06:28:17 am

The Talmud also stands with the woman: if a woman's life OR health is in peril, she MUST abort. It's not an option or a choice. The Jewish law is clear. The mother's life is more important than the potential of her unborn's life. That is all the way up to and through the 9th month. Why? The Talmud further explains, because the mother has already proven that she is fertile. The unborn has proven nothing.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

     
    Follow @bjaycooper

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    B. Jay Cooper

    B. Jay is a former deputy White House press secretary to Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also headed the communications offices at the Republican National Committee, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Yale University. He is a former reporter and is the retired deputy managing director of APCO Worldwide's Washington, D.C., office.
    He is the father of three daughters and grandfather of five boys and one girl. He lives in Marion, Mass.

powered by bjaycooper.com