Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) is a controversial United States Supreme Court case that resulted in a landmark decision regarding abortion.[1] According to the Roe decision, most laws against abortion in the United States violated a constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision overturned all state and federal laws outlawing or restricting abortion that were inconsistent with its holdings. Roe v. Wade is one of the most controversial and politically significant cases in U.S. Supreme Court history. Its lesser-known companion case, Doe v. Bolton, was decided at the same time.[2]
The central holding of Roe v. Wade was that abortions are permissible for any reason a woman chooses, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable,’ that is, potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid. Viability is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks."[1] The Court also held that abortion after viability must be available when needed to protect a woman's health, which the Court defined broadly in the companion case of Doe v. Bolton. These court rulings affected laws in 46 states.[3]
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Overturning Roe v. Wade
John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.
Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.
However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion. Once the question is returned to the states, the fight for life will be one of courage and compassion - the courage of a pregnant mother to bring her child into the world and the compassion of civil society to meet her needs and those of her newborn baby. The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level. As John McCain has publicly noted, "At its core, abortion is a human tragedy. To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level."
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(Note: Sarah Palin is even more conservative in her views than McCain. She wants to drill in the Alaskan wilderness, and she believes Global Warming is not manmade. I can understand Evangelical Christians being thrilled by her nomination. I can understand the non-evangelical far right being thrilled. But I can't imagine a supporter of Hillary Clinton being thrilled unless the support was completely ideological about gender issues, not a commitment to issues Clinton fights for. At any rate, the battle lines now are clearly drawn. We'll see what kind of future the majority of Americans want. Do I have a prediction? Not really. But I wouldn't be upset by an Obama landslide ha ha.)
Here is just one issue where the differences between the candidates are monumental. There's plenty here to debate without throwing mud.
Everything in my rhythm changes after this weekend. For me, the school year begins three weeks before I enter the classroom. As I usually am by this time of the summer, I'm eager for the term to begin. I like teaching and I like the schedule it puts me on. I didn't get everything done I wanted to this summer but I had a very productive summer nonetheless, writing two new screenplays and finishing a new video. No complaints. We still get a few days at the coast, our vacation, but mostly now it's time to get serious about putting together my new syllabus. Onward.
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