<PT.IV> Abortion Rights in America: How the Supreme Court got abortion wrong in 2022
28) Also, it’s not "Liberal America’s" fault that Trump is constantly in the news
This is the fourth installment of “Abortion Rights” in America.
In the year 2022, I wonder how the heck did we get here? In 2012, President Obama’s signature legislative achievement - “The Affordable Care Act”, famously known as “Obama Care”, was under attack. In fact the moment that piece of legislation was even being constructed as a draft, it was under attack. But, Summer 2012 was “Obama Care’s” moment of truth.
The surprising hero of “Obama Care” in 2012 was none other than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts.
Somehow when traditional conservatives do one really good thing for a liberal cause, they become a hero in liberal America. Even if their record across the board is incredibly conservative.
“The current court is the most pro-religion of any court in nearly 70 years, according to statistics compiled for an upcoming article in The Supreme Court Review, written by professor Epstein and professor Eric Posner of the University of Chicago. While the number of pro-religion outcomes edged up to 58% overall when William Rehnquist was chief justice (1986-2005), the rate has skyrocketed to over 86% in the years since then with John Roberts as chief justice and the court's composition growing steadily more conservative.” https://www.npr.org/2022/07/05/1109444617/the-supreme-court-conservative
Sadly, there has been a complete lack of objectivity in our media coverage. For example, the anger in which conservatives have shown at the mere mention of the “Supreme Court draft leak” coming from one of their own, is sac-religious. Like, somehow conservative America plays by the rules and everyone else doesn’t.
Rodger Citron, a Constitutional Law Scholar, wrote an illuminating piece on how “Roe v. Wade's” decision came to be in 1973. He also discussed how the current Supreme Court completely dismantled it in 2022 with their ruling on “Dobbs v Women’s Health Organization”.
Professor Citron did a really nice job in giving historical background on the key Justices in the 1973 “Roe” decisions (being Blackmun and Burger) compared to the key Justices in the 2022 “Dobbs” decision (being Alito and Thomas) https://verdict.justia.com/2022/07/06/roe-and-dobbs-as-defining-cases-for-the-supreme-court-and-the-justices-who-wrote-the-majority-opinions .
“Because overturning prior precedent is an unusual act, Alito’s decision often is devoid of the respectful tone characteristic of most judicial opinions. Applying a relentless originalist methodology, the Court bludgeons Roe, disparaging its reasoning as “exceedingly weak” and insisting that neither Roe nor Casey involves the sort of “concrete reliance interests” that warrant their retention. (This latter statement is extraordinary, given the fact that, as Greenhouse recently observed in the New York Times, “[t]wo generations of women in this country have come of age secure in the knowledge that an unintended pregnancy need not knock their lives off course.”) - RC 07/06/2022
This quote by Professor Citron, is a lot to unpack. For one thing, even people that just have a cursory understanding of the law, can probably understand what precedent means. I have discussed it in many of my writings, and that fifty years of prior precedent with respect to women’s rights has gone right out the window.
As for Alito’s tone lacking in respect, this is a bit harder to pierce out from just reading Professor Citron’s piece. If you were to read Alito’s opinion (or the whole 213 page “Dobbs'' case itself), you might be in for even more of an experience. Professor Citron explains how derisive Justice Alito is in his ruling, and how that has set women’s rights back two generations. This might be easy (for conservatives) to dismiss since nowhere in the Constitution is a woman’s right to an abortion explicitly stated.
Citron is being critical of the fact that Justice Alito is deliberately thumbing his nose at “Roe” which set the precedent for women having a right to an abortion. Alito also attacks “Casey”, which in 1992 reaffirmed and strengthened “Roe”. Citron sheds light on how this current ruling on the 2022 case presented to the court, is a rather unusual move, that strikes many people as incredibly political, not just people who are pro-choice, (or even your ardent activists).
If you go back to 2005, it was John Roberts who was the one who said during his confirmation hearings that his job as a Judge is to respect precedent under principles of Stare Decisis.
“I will be open to the considered views of my colleagues on the bench, and I will decide every case based on the record, according to the rule of law, without fear or favor, to the best of my ability, and I will remember that it’s my job to call balls and strikes, and not to pitch or bat”. https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/chief-justice-roberts-statement-nomination-process - John Roberts
I’m not here to celebrate John Roberts as a Supreme Court Justice. But, I at least respect his desire to protect the institution of the court. Obviously, how he presents himself in public is often different from what happens behind the scenes. But, everything I have learned about him is that he’s pretty consistent in his incrementalism approach.
One of the most fascinating pieces I read in recent memory was how John Roberts tried to save “Roe v. Wade” much in the same way he successfully saved “Obama Care”. https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/21/politics/john-roberts-obamacare-the-chief . The fact that the “Dobbs case” was leaked, made it virtually impossible for Roberts to flip one of the newer Justices - (Brett Kavanaugh or Amy Coney Barrett) from a “Yes” vote on overturning “Roe” to a “No” vote in saving it .
I remember tweeting this story out, saying that from reading that piece, I am more convinced now than ever, that the original leaking of the “Dobbs” case came out of either Clarence Thomas’s camp or Samuel Alito’s camp.
I was amazed at how many retweets and likes that story got on my twitter feed. The reason being is
I’m not exactly a prolific tweeter.
I don’t usually gather that much attention on my Twitter to begin with.
But, what really sticks with me, is when I posted this story in other social media spaces; The anger and venom I got from conservatives who boldly claimed that “I was absolutely wrong!” That it was a liberal who leaked this.
Not one of these people provided me with even one iota of evidence to back up their claims. They were just angry that I would present my case. But, my goodness, “Did any one of them even read this story?” https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/politics/supreme-court-john-roberts-abortion-dobbs/index.html
Liberals had way more to lose in that case being leaked early, than conservatives did. It hardened the conservatives on the bench, and further marginalized John Roberts.
The fault lines in our political system just continue to widen further and further. From January 2021 to present-day, in a space of of just nineteen months, we have witnessed
A Capital Insurrection spearheaded by the outgoing President (01/06/2021)
Draft Leak of Dobbs (05/02/2022)
Overturning of Abortion (06//24/2022)
A former President (potentially) taking nuclear codes to his private home in Mar-a-Lago (FBI Raid of Mar-a-Lago to find classified documents on 08/08/2022)
Other disturbing things going on, from the ideological extremism of the Supreme Court, as well as many other issues impacting America and Americans.
There obviously has been a lot more written and spoken about “Roe ” being overturned by “Dobbs”. Professor Citron’s piece is a good place to start. As for the two written CNN pieces I cited (about John Roberts), they have done excellent reporting on the ground, with respect to palace intrigue and the jockeying for position among the Supreme Court Justices.
Peace & Love
-JPJ
So important to get this narrative right...and I think you're nailing it. We have to learn from it!
That pic of John Roberts looks so old. LOL