Letters to the Editor
-
Let's not forget...
Let's not forget that the SCOTUS decision also hands a juicy apple to Democrats. Abortion rights has long been the fear-button used by the Democratic Party to motivate voters (particularly women voters). The party now has incontrovertible proof that the threat posed by the GOP to women's reproductive rights is real. Anti-woman judges are no longer a spectre of fevered and fearful imaginations: they are now manifest.
Because it affects so few women and represents such a minority of abortions, and because the Court has placed its seal on the issue, it is now a politically "safe" topic to debate in public. For Democrats, it is a blessing in disguise: the dissenting justices plainly spell out the issue - the safety of the woman - which creates a classic moral/ethical dilemma concerning the "higher good" ("save the mother" vs. "save the baby"). Republicans can savor a small victory while continuing to rally their base with promises of more laws (and more pocket-sized justices).
This decision is a nice gift to those Democrats running for President, especially Hillary Clinton, who one hopes will not waffle and waver on this issue as she has done recently with regard to other controversial matters. Democratic candidates can now proudly proclaim their intent to restore "balance" to the Court. The direction each chooses to take on issue will say much about their character and candidacy.