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Many Voices, One Freedom: United in the 1st Amendment

March 19, 2024

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The leak of a draft of the opinion set off a firestorm, both figuratively and literally, around the nation. With the release of the final opinion, we see a tectonic move in American jurisprudence. We the People, should be ready for the easily anticipated reaction of those who disagree with the court. Some will demonstrate while others riot. We should all expect politicians, pundits, and media personnel on both sides to make hyperbolic claims about what this opinion means. Still, as Ronald Reagan said, we should trust but verify. If we inoculate ourselves with a little bit of the truth, it is less likely that well be taken in by the rhetorical onslaught most of us fully expect.

The best place to start is with the original language. In this case, what is the actual opinion of the court?

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.

Dobbs v. Jacksons Womens Health

The court did not find a right to abortion in the Constitution of the United States. The court is correct; there is no language in the Constitution protecting the right to terminate a pregnancy. Having taken the time to read the Roe v. Wade opinion, I realize that the claim to a right to abortion was never made in that opinion either. The Roe court found that the decision to have an abortion was a private one between the woman and her doctor, and could only be regulated by the states when the life in the womb was considered viable. It was subsequent opinions, political talking points, and media exaggerations that expanded on Roe to include the idea of a constitutional right to abortion.”

The Supreme Court opinions in Roe and Casey are overruled. Both of these cases took the opinions of judges expanding on the language of the Constitution, to claim the authority to make regulating abortions anywhere in the United States illegal. Since there is no language in the Constitution protecting a womans right to get an abortion, these cases assumed a power not delegated to the United States. Specifically, the power to regulate abortions. Therefore, according to the Tenth Amendment, these powers remain with the states:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

U.S. Constitution, Amendment X

Since the power to regulate abortions is not delegated to the United States, nor specifically prohibited to the states, this power properly remains with the states. This explains the courts third point.

After the leak of the draft opinion, I heard many politicians, pundits, and media personalities claim that overturning Roe v. Wade would be the end of abortion in America. However, that is patently false. The authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.

As a union of free, independent, and sovereign states, each state has the legitimate authority to regulate powers delegated to them by their Constitution and not delegated to the United States. All this opinion has done is recognize that fact and allow the states to once again exercise their sovereign authority within their borders without fear of federal interference.

What can the American people conclude, both from the reactions to the leak of the draft and the anticipated reactions to this opinion? First, we should recognize that there are people in our country for whom the ends justify the means. Some will use lies, intimidation, and violence to get their way. This should be obvious from the hysterical disinformation, more than 40 arson attempts on pro-life churches and organizations, and the assassination attempt on Justice Kavanaugh after the leak of the draft. The American people should brace themselves for more of the same. We should also take to heart Reagans admonition to trust but verify.

The Supreme Court has not made abortion illegal in this country. The power to regulate abortion has once again rightly returned to your state. If you wish for abortion to be legal, then contact your representatives in your states legislature and work to pass laws making it so. If you wish to restrict or abolish abortions, you should do exactly the same. But if America is to remain a Constitutional Republic, we cannot allow nine justices in black robes to write law from the bench.

My purpose in writing this article is not to debate abortion, but to provide some solid ground for you to understand what the court actually did in the Dobbs opinion. We the People, tell the government what to do, not the other way around. And since we did not tell the federal government they had the right to regulate abortion; the Roe court made a mistake which this court has corrected.

While I am glad to see the court apply the actual language of the Constitution to their decision, I am saddened that it took almost 50 years for them to do so. Like many of you, I wait, both prepared and with bated breath, to see how the rest of the nation will react.

MANY VOICES, ONE FREEDOM: UNITED IN THE 1ST AMENDMENT

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