In
In landmark case Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion and the right to have one fell under the right to privacy that had been implied in the constitution. They also declared the fetus was not legally a person, and so was not entitled to due process. Consequently, the Supreme Court ruled that a Texas statute banning abortion, except when necessary to save the mother's life, was unconstitutional. In second case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the court reemphasized the right to an abortion under the right of liberty and abortion in the Due Process Cause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. In their ruling, the court stated:
If the right of privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual,
married or single, to be free from unwarranted government intrusion into matters
so fundementally affecting a person as whether to bear or beget a child.
The conservative side of the argument argues that the Constitution does not provide for judicial review. The Constituion syas three things are the law of the land: the Constitution itself, the laws of the United States and all treaties. Absent from this triad is a court opinion. The basis of judicial review was established under Marbury v. Madison, which is a court case that set precedent. Many conservatives argue that the court's right to judicial review is illegitimate, thus rendering Supreme Court cases invalid and insisting the fetus does indeed have a right to life.
Any argument that declares Marbury v. Madison illegal just turns me off. Marbury v. Madison set the precedent for judicial review, one of the essential components of checks and balances. If it's invalid, our government is decidedly lopsided. Overturning such a landmark case would also invalidate all cases made on the basis of it, setting into motion a mass domino effect. As of 2010, the Supreme Court has negated about 163 laws of Congress. I agree with the courts in that women have a right to their bodies and a right to a legal abortion. If pro-lifers want to disagree, they should do better than arguing a cornerstone of our political structure is a illegitimate.
Wow, I don't think I've ever heard of Marbury v. Madison as being called bogus in modern circles. That seems very fringe to me. What about the argument that there is no explicit clause in the Constitution that gives a right to privacy? Check this out, it's an interesting read: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/rightofprivacy.html
ReplyDelete