Overturning Roe v. Wade: The Current U.S. Supreme Court’s Irresponsible Decision

By David Starr

Because of the right-wing judges’ decision to overturn Roe v. Wade,  the current Supreme Court is illegitimate.

These judges are trying to turn the clock back to a time when women were kept in their place in regards to reproductive choice; and with men in general, via the government, to decide for women what choices they have. Whether legal or not, women are going to, at the least, seek out information about abortion. Before Roe v. Wade, women took desperate chances to get an abortion. Back alleys and coat hangers come to mind. There was a lack of hygienic measures to properly perform the procedure. As a result, women died.

With laws being enacted by Republican-controlled state legislatures, the attempt is to make abortion a crime and to punish women, abortion providers, etc. But do the same Republicans (as well as “pro-lifers” in general) support U.S. imperial wars with all the carnage and deaths in foreign countries; including the deaths of children? The answer is, basically, yes. Irresponsibility, putting it mildly. Hypocrisy at the most.

Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, Dara E. Purvis–a professor at Penn State specializing in law, and Vice Chair of the Population Connection organization–wrote an article published in the Population Connection’s magazine warning what could happen after the decision was made. She wrote that, immediately, “about half the states will criminalize abortion, either through pre-Roe laws that were never taken off the books, post-Roe ‘trigger laws’ written to snap into place if Roe were ever reversed, or modern laws currently being challenged under Roe.”

Purvis further wrote that these states could experiment with harsher ways of cracking down on anyone involved with an abortion. Private citizens could sue anyone, even if a woman goes across state lines to have an abortion. And “there are also rumblings of federal legislation banning abortion nationwide after the 2022 mid-term elections.”

The right-wingers on the Supreme Court say they follow the U.S. Constitution, that they are “originalists.” But the Constitution is a work in progress, proven by the additional amendments that were added over the years. And Roe v. Wade represents the 14^th Amendment’s guarantee that the government will not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Right-wing Supreme Court judges are thus imposing their fossilized view of the Constitution.

These judges, due to their “jurisprudence,” are really not qualified to serve on the court. Notably, Samuel Alito (who wrote the draft to overturn Roe v. Wade), Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, Amy Cohen Barrett and Neil Gorsuch should be impeached for trying to impose the right-wing’s agenda. Overall, it, and they, do not support democracy. When it comes down to it, there is support for sexism, classism and racism cloaked under a veneer of “legality”. Women who are working class and/or poor, particularly women of color, are looked at as not having the right to choose abortion as a last resort, while rich, white women have better odds of getting access to abortion; and with the procedures done in secret. Typical right-wing hypocrisy.

Are the Democrats really doing something about right-wing attacks on reproductive rights? Paul Street’s opinion piece published in CounterPunch (05/25/2022) reveals that they hardly are. Street wrote that “it is important to reject the approach of Democratic Party ‘elites’ and leading establishment ‘pro-choice’ organizations. They are engaged in advance surrender. They are giving up on Roe without a major fight in the streets, schools, workplaces, and public squares. That is unconscionable.”

Street indicated that Democrats are taking a timid approach to protect abortion rights. There are six “appeasement narratives” that Street points out which lead to “capitulation.”

 

 1) Overturning Roe is inevitable: 

Street says “false.” He wrote that if millions came out to protest for reproductive right, this could have a negative effect on the Supreme Court’s “institutional legitimacy.”

 

2)    The overturning of Roe would work in the Democrats’ favor for the 2022 mid-term elections:

 

Street didn’t take this seriously. Whether a Democrat or a Republican had the White House, mid-terms for House seats turned out not to favor the party with executive power.

 

3)    Democratic states will keep abortion legal, despite the fact that 25 Republican states will outlaw it.

 

So, the women in red states have to cope on their own? Street wrote sarcastically, “Gosh. Whatever were these females thinking by living in places like Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas?”

 

4)    Rich, blue states can provide sanctuary to those seeking abortions.

 

Street wrote that the overall costs will be very expensive. To make matters worse, red states would make it illegal for women and girls to go to another state for an abortion.

 

5)    Abortion pills really can’t be stopped in red states.

 

Street differs, writing that red state legislatures and governors are planning ways to make abortion pills criminal.

 

6)    Voting is a cure-all for society’s problems. If you have the vote, you have the power to change things.

 

Street found this humorous. Voting hasn’t changed the power structures that are dominated by corporate and financial wealth. This has had a negative effect on U.S. elections.

 

“Mass action” is what Street suggests for various struggles, in this case reproductive rights. Specifically, “strikes, marches, sit-ins, sit-downs, occupations, work stoppages, movements, and movement cultures” beyond the two corporate parties of capital. Street added that the vote was won through “popular mass disturbance.”

Reflecting what Street wrote, mass popular action is justified to protect reproductive rights; and against a morally bankrupt and illegitimate Supreme Court.