A friend of mine posted on Instagram the other day about how too many people aren’t standing up for this issue. I’m not sure what my track record is on standing up, but hoping to make a stand here, at least.
What has happened in this country with the overturning of Roe V. Wade is crazy. It’s crazy for a bunch of reasons. Not the least of which is stare decisis in which a decision was made a long time ago but the current make of the court isn’t standing on precedent and just overruling the existing world. While that isn’t my moral feeling on this, and morally I think we need to allow people to have freedoms, the issue of consistency of law is a big one. The law was set, and now the judges have unset the law.
Beyond all of that, the thing that gets to me is that everyone thinks of this as a 3 / 6 decision. It’s not, it’s actually a 3 / 1 / 5 decision. Also, I don’t even really know each of the justices on the court. I’d really like to change that. I’d like to understand who is an ally and who is against personal freedoms in a way that makes sense.
Judges
John G. Roberts
Chose to not agree fully with the removal of Roe V. Wade, but did think that the Dobbs law should be overturned. While I’m not a conservative, this seems to strike a middle position. Believing that the law should be overturned in Mississippi is not the same as meaning that Roe was just wrong. So while I don’t share Robert’s view on this case, his view of Roe continuing to exist is something I agree with. Nomimated as Chief Justice by George W. Bush (jr) and took his seat in 2005.
Clarence Thomas
Sided with the majority in ruling to overturn Roe V. Wade and remove the constitutional right to an abortion. Conservative judge and definitely someone whose views I’m personally afraid of. Nominated by President Bush (sr) and began serving in 1991.
Stephen Breyer
Part of the minority voted against the decision. He was nominated by President Clinton and took his seat in 1994.
Samuel A. Alito
Wrote the opinion for the majority, and in my mind has a very closed mind. Nominated by George W. Bush (jr) and took his seat in 2006.
Sonia Sotomayor
Part of the minority descent against the decision. Was nominated by Obama and took her seat in 2009.
Elena Kegan
Part of the minority descent against the decision. Was nominated by President Obama and took her seat in 2010.
Niel M. Gorsuch
Joined the majority opinion. Was nominated by Trump and took his seat in 2017.
Brett M. Kavanaugh
Joined the majority opinion. Was nominated by Trump and took his seat in 2018.
Amy Coney Barrett
Joined the majority opinion. Was nominated by Trump and took her seat in 2020.
Understanding this all
I was listening to What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law, and they made a very interesting point that is clear from the nominations and seats from above. This shouldn’t have been a surprise. This was going to happen based on the liberal judges that were put in place. This has been coming for a very long time.
This makes me think about some very big questions:
- Should we put a term limit on judges now that the human life expectancy is so much longer than in the past?
- Should there be more means to remove judges that don’t reflect the belief structure of the American people?
- Was there really anything the democrats could have done to prevent the appointment of Amy Coney Barret?
There are questions about what should have happened in the past and what we can do in the future. I wish the path forward to really making a change was clear, but it isn’t. Do we need to move to red states where our voices will be more valuable?
I’m hunting for answers in this, and don’t have any. If you have a way to organize and do something, please share. I feel very powerless at this moment.