Friday’s ruling by the Supreme Court capped a rather remarkable few days as the Court spoke strongly and forcefully on constitutional rights. It reinforced rights guaranteed in the Constitution on freedom of religion and to bear arms. But the most-watched decision overturned Roe v. Wade, as expected thanks to the politically motivated leak several weeks earlier of the draft opinion.
We have already had to endure weeks of shrill, militant and dangerous “protests” about the decision that has seen unhinged leftists try to intimidate members of the court and their families outside of their homes and an assassination attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh with nary a word from President Biden to even attempt to tamp down emotions or even mention the Kavanaugh assassination attempt.
What seems to be completely missing among those who have lost their minds over the decision is one obvious fact: abortion was not outlawed by this decision. It merely places the issue in the hands of the states and its citizens. Much as the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which was the catalyst for the court’s abortion decision, did not outlaw abortion, as the Mississippi law that was being challenged only restricted abortion to the first 15 weeks. But pointing that out does not serve their cause. Anger and rage do not wish to be bothered by facts.
The salient fact is Roe v. Wade never had much to do with law, but with politics. There simply is no constitutional right to an abortion. Even much-revered-by-the-left Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed discomfort with this aspect of Roe v. Wade.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the Court’s 6-3 majority: “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.”
By contrast, in the earlier court decisions last week, it pointed out that religious and self-defense rights are indeed specifically delineated within the Constitution. Abortion is not. No amount of threats, intimidation or handmaid-wringing is going to change this fact.
There is absolutely nothing positive that is going to come from violent protests, which the radical pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge, has vowed will take place and has already taken place in the form of vandalism of pregnancy support centers.
Unfortunately, we appear to already be past the point of engaging in meaningful discussion as politicians quickly seized on this moment, particularly those on the Democratic side desperate to find a way to salvage their midterm hopes. They are eagerly inflaming the pro-abortion mob.
Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has become almost a cartoon character, wasted no time in blaming Trump for the decision because that is all the Democrats have at this point.
“Today the Republican-controlled Supreme Court has achieved their dark, extreme goal of ripping away a woman’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions,” Pelosi said on Friday. “Because of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and the Republican Party, their supermajority on the Supreme Court, American women today have less freedom than their mothers.”
With inflation raging, a brutal war in Ukraine, a porous U.S. southern border and mothers unable to obtain baby formula, blaming Trump is all that’s left for them. As their feeble, harmful policies are laid bare for Americans to see and painfully feel, Democrats are pinning their hopes on tearing down the credibility of the Supreme Court, which they once could reliably count on and held in high esteem, as long as it served their purpose.
Now, we have light-thinking pundits actually calling for abolishing the Supreme Court or equally light-thinking politicians wanting to pack the court.
Talk about sore losers.
For years, conservatives suffered defeats in the courts. Sure, it hurt or angered them, but they took their “L” without acting like a bunch of Eric Cartmans.
They worked to elect candidates favorable to their position. It’s far more preferable than foot-stomping temper tantrums that turn off the very people you are hoping to influence, namely everyday Americans who have little tolerance for violence and hatred.
Wise advice would counsel those upset over the decision to accept the “L” but also feel free to let it seethe and then turn it into positive action. Burning, looting and pillaging will not change the court’s decision nor ingratiate.
Pro-abortion advocates would be best-served working to convince voters in states to support their position and elect candidates favorable to their position.
Which is exactly the path the Court’s decision delineated.
So, follow the Court’s advice and the game plan used by conservatives or continue on a losing path of destruction.
Oh, the irony.
Dave Ruthenberg is a multiple award-winning columnist and Main Street Nashville opinion editor. He can be reached at druthenberg@mainstreetmediatn.com.
