This blog rarely delves into politics, sadly politics has invaded nearly all aspects of citizen’s life. As many of you probably know a draft decision was leaked from the U.S. supreme court that reads as they are going to overturn the landmark decision of Roe v Wade, effectively ending federal protections of abortion. This is a big deal. This is one of the most controversial laws in the U.S. for the last several decades. I am surprised that they want to overturn this, and even more surprised that this was leaked. First to the leak, whoever did it REALLY stuck their neck out because that in of itself is unprecedented. They could face serious time in jail for that, best of luck…
So if this happens (it is not set in stone that it will) then effectively abortion becomes a state issue. That means every state in the U.S. can set up their own laws. This doesn’t preclude congress from passing a new law pertaining to abortion but the immediate impact will be states get to decide. So depending on where you live, abortion might be outlawed completed. Now keep in mind any state legislation that is proposed to affect abortion law will likely be challenged legally.
This is a polarizing social issue (like we need more of those). You will see protests, maybe riots it won’t be pretty. There is a lot of speculation that this was done for political reasons to invigorate democratic voters. Look that is plausible but I don’t know. Long term this is a good outcome because what this means is states will be responsible for abortion law. This puts it one step closer to the actual voter base. A state senator in Michigan is much more beholden to Michigan voters then the federal senator for Vermont.
The bad news is in states that do not want abortion, this will affect women in those states disproportionately and that was the underlying strength of Roe v Wade, it protected women’s right to choose in states that would otherwise remove that choice. Now for wealthy Americans you could always go “over the border” and get it taken care of but what about low income individuals who don’t have those resources? Tough questions are ahead for sure.
My take: I am a libertarian. So for me I believe in the liberty of the individual. I believe that government should be excluded from the matter. To be clear, I believe a woman should have the right to decide if she wants to carry a child to term or not. As that child is reliant on her body to sustain the child it is her conscious that has to deal with the reprocusions of the choice.
I believe that governments job is to ensure the health and safety of its population. This means that government should be supporting the woman’s choice with reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation, to me means, not creating obstacles for that woman when she makes her choice. Roe vs Wade achieved this to a degree, it wasn’t perfect but it minimally provided federal protection against a state legislature prohibiting this action.
Ideally, neither the state nor the feds would be involved. A woman who is pregnant consults whom she wishes too on the matter (ideally the father) and then once the decision is made she purchases the service (the abortion).
I concede fully that this issue teeters on many social, spiritual and religious issues. I can’t tackle them all here, what I can do is proceed with my value system of liberty. Some might say “god provides your liberty” fine, you are entitled to believe that. At the end of the day, if Roe v Wade is overturned this will have a profound effect on the social construct. I’m going to lean to the side of a woman’s choice here. I think the best outcome is to have individuals responsible for their individual circumstances and governments should help them achieve that outcome not hinder it.
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