Samuel Alito reassured lawmakers that he would respect legal precedent on abortion rights and put his personal views aside.
John Roberts said that the landmark 1973 ruling legalizing abortion was “settled as a precedent of the court”.
So, how is this supposed to get better?
John Roberts said that the landmark 1973 ruling legalizing abortion was “settled as a precedent of the court”.
So, how is this supposed to get better?
Short answer:
it doesn't.
Longer answer:
One of the tenets of conservatism is realism, regarding the frailties of human nature and the way things are in the world, whether we like it or not.
And as a realist, one must conclude that the issue of abortion is pretty much settled in America, as no less a "conservative" as John G. Roberts, Jr. admits. What is, will be.
I believe the Roberts court is arguably the most conservative court I will see for the rest of my life (granted, I'm older). I do not expect to ever see nominated or confirmed justices "further to the right" on the abortion divide than those who sit now.
Having said that, I can comfortably predict that the Roberts court is never going to "reverse" Roe v. Wade. Nor, for that matter, will any subsequent court. Can you say the two words "stare decisis"? I knew you could.
Just as it is still argued that the Southern states were in the right in their cause, there are those who are still trying to fight the Civil War. And, regardless of how in the right the pro-life movement is, their cause has become as unwinnable as that of the South. It is a battle lost.
The refusal of some to recognize this political reality could lead the Republican party to the same fate as the Whigs.
- John
I'm willing to bet he said that with his fingers crossed.