Today marks the one year anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade in a 5 - 4 decision at the Supreme Court.
The federal law had stood for close to 50 years.
Several of the newer conservative justices flat out lied during their confirmation hearings, saying that Roe was settled law and that “stare decisis”, a latin term meaning “to stand by things decided”, was a critical component in jurist’s decision making.
They said what they had to say to get their appointments, regardless of their intentions.
So here we are now with a patchwork of state regulations, dividing our country even further, with some women having to travel hundreds of miles at significant expense to seek medical care.
Evangelicals, who have been the major force behind shredding the law, are currently attending the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington DC, with abortion front and center on their agenda.
Senator Lindsay Graham’s proposed a 15 week bill in the Senate last year, which seems reasonable given the extreme polarization on the issue.
Fetal viability outside the womb is generally considered to be about 24 weeks.
In an effort to get every state on the same page, a new 20-week federal law should be enacted with exceptions, which would please virtually no one.
That’s what compromise is all about.
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