Date: 6/15/2022
Should Roe v Wade as discussed in your opinion article be overturned?
First, Judges do not at any confirmation hearings opine on future cases that may or may not come before the court. There could be serious political consequences, including their own nomination to the US Supreme Court if they did.
Second, the US Supreme Court decides cases, one by one, based upon the case or controversy before it, and upon the facts presented. Previous cases may be followed, but not always.
For example, cases held that Negroes were not, under our constitution, “persons” with rights, until the later part of the 19th century.
You state that many view abortion as immoral and against their religious views. This is true because many believe abortion kills innocent human beings. Judge Alito discusses this in his draft opinion; but does not decide the issue. Why is this an issue now? The Roe case has spawned numerous cases since it was decided in 1973. It held that states could restrict abortion after the fetus (unborn child) was viable (could live outside the mother) but offered no reasonable, scientific or legal bases for this distinction!
While Roe may be established law, that does not mean it is the correct decision. A holding that abortion, which is not in the Constitution is based upon a woman’s privacy rights; also, not in the Constitution, is tenuous at least, and, as Justice Alito said in his draft opinion, “bad law” and a mistake! He states that in appropriate circumstances we must be willing to reconsider and, if necessary, overrule constitutional decisions.
The case should be overruled and left for the states to decide how to protect unborn human beings.
Charles A. Collins
Longmeadow
