World Views

Supreme Court Upholds Texas Abortion Law

The Supreme Court did not act to block a Texas law which bans abortions after the detection of a fetal heartbeat, essentially after the six week mark of a pregnancy. The law went into effect on September 1st.,Texas abortion providers where open until midnight August 31st., to squeeze in every abortion they could before the law went into effect. The court's nighttime order rejected an emergency request by abortion providers and advocates. Justice Alito, who oversees the district which includes Texas denied the stay. While not a final ruling on the constitutionality of the law, the court's action at least temporarily upholds a crafty attempt by Texas legislators to shield anti abortion legislation from court challenges. Ordinarily the way it works, abortion-rights advocates challenge these restrictions by suing the government officials in charge of enforcing the law, however Texas lawmakers shifted enforcement from the state to private parties. Under the law, private parties can file civil lawsuits against any person who allegedly performs an abortion or aids, or intends to do so after the six week limitation. A successful suit entitles the plaintiff to collect $ 10,000 in damages per abortion challenged. Abortion clinics and doctors can still challenge the constitutionality of the law if sued, but that could put them in financial jeopardy.

The political response to the ruling was predictable. President Biden issued the following statement, "This extreme Texas law blatantly violates the constitutional right established under Roe v. Wade and upheld as precedent for nearly half of a century." Biden, if you recall has recently supported the abolition of the Hyde Amendment, which denied federal funding for abortions, and has indicated he would support extended abortion rights up to and including the moment of birth. This is exactly like the state laws that currently exist in New York and Connecticut. 

Twenty four hours after the issuing the denial of the stay, the court issued a single majority opinion upholding the Texas law and four dissents. Chief Justice Roberts joined the 3 liberal justices' in the (5-4) opinion. What does this mean for abortion in America ? In my opinion it is one more baby step forward toward abolishing Roe, elections matter and precedents are only precedent until they are defeated.

The House Excludes the Hyde and Helms Amendments From Appropriation Bills and Biden Nominates A Lesbian Rabbi to Religious Freedom Commission.

We are reminded once again that elections have consequences. The House Appropriations Committee has succeeded in eliminating both the Hyde and Helms amendments from spending bills, by a partisan vote of 217-208. Not a single Democrat voted to retain either of them. When the bill goes into reconciliation, the Vice President can vote to break the tie. The Minority party can not use the filibuster which would take 60 votes to overturn. What does this mean for us as Christians? Simply stated, we will be funding through our tax dollars abortions here in the U.S. via Medicaid and also for abortions abroad. Hopefully there will be a Democrat or two that will break the tie in the Senate if everyone else votes along party lines. Pray for some Democrats to cross over and vote NO to this outrage. Speaker Pelosi has crowed about this in public stating her kudos of having five children in six years and being a devout Catholic which gives her the bona fides to weigh in. To her this is about equity in women's healthcare and it ensures that all women, regardless of income will have access to abort their children on the taxpayer dime. Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco has a different opinion of what constitutes a devout Catholic. "No Catholic in good conscience can favor abortion" and furthermore he said," Our land is soaked with the blood of the innocent, and it must stop." Joe Biden who supported the Hyde and Helms amendments for 45 years in the Senate did a flip flop on  the eve before his nomination in order to secure it, also claims to be a devout Catholic. 

President Biden nominated Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum to the International Religious Freedom Commission. The Rabbi is married to Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. Besides being a lesbian I wonder if the fact that she is married to the president of the AFT who was also in the mix to be nominated by Biden for the Secretary of Education, had anything to do with the rabbi's nomination? Biden also nominated two Muslims for religious freedom posts. Rashad Hussein is his nominee for ambassador-at-large for international freedom and Khizr Khan. Khan spoke at the 2016 Democratic Nomination about his son  an Army Captain who died in Iraq in 2004. You may remember that he accused Trump of never making a sacrifice for his country and for never reading the Constitution. Tony Perkins a Marine, former policeman, Christian Minister and President of the Family Research Council is still serving  on the Commission until 2022. Nominated by Mitch McConnell, he has been smeared by the left as a homophobe, transphobe, a white supremacist and the leader of a hate group. (that would be the Family Research Council) What kind of representation will these new nominees bring to the table for God fearing Americans? Plenty if you are  "devout" like Nancy and Joe. 

Storm Clouds Gathering Over the Supreme Court

Storm clouds have begun gathering over the Supreme Court since May, after the court agreed to hear Mississippi's appeal of the case, Dobbs v. Jackson. The state's initial appeal, filed in June 2020, argued The Gestational Age Act  complied with existing precedent, suggesting that Roe be overturned if the court found no other way to uphold the state law.  The Mississippi act prohibited abortion at 15 weeks and beyond. The state's brief filed on Thursday directly challenges Roe and Casey. The brief stated,"Roe and Casey are egregiously wrong. The conclusion that abortion is a constitutional right has no basis in text, structure, history or tradition. Roe broke from prior cases, Casey failed to rehabilitate it, and both recognize a right that has no basis in the Constitution." Mississippi is going straight for the jugular of the Roe and Casey rulings. State Attorney General Lynn Fitch has hired Scott Stewart, a veteran of the Trump Justice Department, a former law clerk to Justice Thomas, and is expected to argue the case.

Since the death of Justice Ginsberg in September 2020 and the subsequent appointment of Judge Barrett,  she is expected to join Justices: Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Thomas and Alito to vote against abortion rights. Justice Roberts, the "conservative " loose cannon on the court will not be of any consequence if he sides with the three consistently liberal judges.

The Jackson Women's Health Organization, the state's only abortion clinic, argued in its initial brief filed last August, that 50 years of precedent have established viability as a clear marker where the balance between a woman's right over her own body begin to yield to a states interest in protecting potential life. The clinic argued, "Before viability, the State's interests, whatever they may be, cannot override a pregnant person's interests in their liberty and autonomy over their own body."

Sadly, 50 years of "precedent" have claimed the lives of over 50 million babies and counting since the Roe v. Wade decision. "Precedent" that was based on a non-existent right. Oh, how we've hailed the Emperor's new clothes when we knew he was naked all along. This is not just an embarrassing moment that we can chuckle about afterwards. No, this is a  profound moral outrage that assaults the sacred value of human life and dignity, the likes of which have never before been witnessed in a modern "civilized" society. We await the 50 million would be babies day in court.