Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Alabama's abortion bill

I heard this morning that the Alabama senate had passed a bill prohibiting all abortions except to save the life of the mother. Since then, that's been the buzz all over the internet, so I wanted to chime in although I don't have a lot to say.

For people who want the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, it makes sense to pass such a law. The law is in clear violation of Roe V. Wade, so it could easily create a court case in which somebody is denied a Constitutional right. If it went to the Supreme Court, which now has a conservative majority, Roe V. Wade could be overturned.

But from a pro-choice perspective, it would seem like madness to press the issue all the way to the Supreme Court. I mean if you didn't want Roe v. Wade to be overturned, it seems like you'd try to settle it in the lower courts, and if you couldn't, you should give up. Why should one person who can't get an abortion risk it for everybody else?

So it makes me wonder what will actually happen. Pro-lifers would love for some issue involving this law to go to the Supreme Court, but pro-choicers have every reason to avoid such a scenario. It'll be interesting to see if anybody will bring an issue to the Supreme Court.

I'm not a lawyer, so I don't know how it all works. But could a lower court declare Alabama's law unconstitutional? Does it have to go all the way to the Supreme Court before that could happen?

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