I think that would be a stretch. That amendment, it seems to me, is addressing a specific point, not a sweeping one. It deals with capital punishment, and merely lays down some basic civil rights before execution. To use that clause, through a court decision, to make abortion unconstitutional would, to me, be a perversion of the process. Not that our political enemies (and even some of our friends) don't do it all the time, but that doesn't change the fact.
I think the cleanest, simplest, best way to assert a constitutional ban on abortion is by amendment. When slavery was outlawed, they didn't assert that slavery was always unconstitutional, they amended the document. Think about that. When women got the right to vote, they didn't assert that the right was already in the constitution; they amended it. If slavery was constitutional. If denying suffrage to women was constitutional. Then what is abortion?
Seems to me, an amendment would answer it once and for all. Amendment is the instrument of change created by the Constitution itself. An amendment that passes has the will of the people, the states, and the framers on its side. It carries the full weight and force of our system of government. It has, in fact, the same weight as any other part of the Constitution.
The people might not want that, though. So what is the next best thing, looked at not with the goal of ending abortion, but with the goal of preserving and promoting good government? It seems to me, it is to defer to the states and to the people to answer the question in their own way and time.
And I hope your Thanksgiving was full of family, friends, good cheer and good food! It's 3:33 and I'm still up!
However, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. By soon I mean in this century. I just don't see it happening.
To get the citizens of 38 States to vote to outlaw abortion in its entirety just ain't gonna happen. Personally, I don't think it would be possible even if Jesus Christ himself appeared on national television and endorsed it.
As I said before, what we need to focus on is a reasonably attainable goal. For what it's worth, my idea of that goal is to get Roe overturned, and return to the status quo ante.
That would indeed be 'Federalism' as (I believe) our Founders intended. Let the States decide it and hope to God Almighty that the scales would fall from our fellow citizens eyes and realize that killing unborn children is just plain wrong under any circumstances.
Maybe I'm just some kind of stupid, silly dreamer. That is possible.
But, I just spent the day of Thanksgiving watching my 9 year old son play with his twin 6 year old cousins. They built Leggo toys, played with Lincoln Logs, and ran around my in laws backyard with popguns and balloons. After seeing that, I don't think there is anyone in the world who could argue that this Earth would be a better place of any one of those three hadn't been born.
I don't mean to get all sappy hear Huck, but the ultimate goal is to end this hideous practice of killing children before they even get to draw their first breath. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do think we can all agree on that much at least.
I watched my son teach his younger cousins how to jump into a leaf pile today. Me, my son, and his grandfather spent hours building that pile yesterday. Papa Jim and I got to watch them as they jumped off the stump into the pile we built yesterday. The sound of their young voices screaming to the cedar trees as they flew into that leaf pile was nothing short of magical to me.
How anyone could 'choose' not to be a part of something like that is simply beyond my ken.
I know I'm digressing a bit, but cut me some slack.
Let's focus on what we can accomplish in the short term. Let's put some more 'strict constructionists' on the bench. One or maybe two more is all it's going to take.
If we can do that, we can make some huge strides towards ending the mass infanticide that's going on in our nation today. That's not to mention the possibility of reversing some of the other horrible decisions SCOTUS has made regarding private property rights, the 2nd Amendment, the 5th Amendment, as well as those bastard children of the Bill of Rights, the 9th and 10th Amendments.
Maybe it's that last glass of port I had tonite. Maybe it's the tryptophan in the turkey kicking it. Who knows what it is, but I know that we are all going to have to pull together in order to get SCOTUS to take that first small step in the right direction so that we can all have the God given rights enumerated in our Constitution restored to each and every one of us.
Even the most defenseless among us; unborn children.
And on that note I will bid you a both a good night.
Let's try to remember that we're all on the same side.
Warm regards to both,
L