Ryan ChartrandEarlier this month, the Supreme Court upheld in a 5 to 4 ruling, Gonzales v. Carhart, banning for the first time a particular type of abortion procedure that opponents label “partial birth abortion.” Many proponents of women’s rights and abortion warn that this ruling will lead to the overturning of the landmark case Roe v. Wade.
However, historically, the Supreme Court has rarely reversed its position on major decisions in order to maintain its reputation and integrity. Instead, the true danger to abortion rights stem from a slow undermining of Roe v. Wade rather than a total reversal of the decision.
In a very deliberate manner, the Supreme Court overturned its own decision in Plessy v. Ferguson through Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954. To insure the decision had clout, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously 9 to 0 that separate but equal facilities for blacks and whites were inherently unequal. Had the vote instead been 5 to 4, the case would have been interpreted as a weak ruling that could be easily overturned once again if another conservative justice was appointed to replace a more liberal one.
The Roe v. Wade decision was made with a 7 to 2 vote. In order to appear credible, it would require a ruling of equal or greater strength to realistically overturn it. However, the court is far too divided ideologically for this to happen at the moment. Two groups of four justices consistently vote along conservative and liberal lines respectively, with moderate Justice Anthony Kennedy controlling the “tie breaker” vote.
It is instead through a slow “death by a thousand cuts” that abortions might be made unattainable for women. Over the past 30 years since the decision, Congress and individual states have passed numerous laws limiting and regulating abortion.
Until last week, the courts have upheld few of these restrictions, which individually are manageable. But together, they impede a woman’s right to choose. Instead, the courts have opted to limit federal funding for abortions. However, with its most recent abortion ruling, Gonzales v. Carhart opens the court to further rulings that create individually modest restrictions on abortions that together could make abortions outright impossible.
The Supreme Court derives the majority of its power not just from the Constitution, but from the people’s belief that the court is consistent, fair and just. The Supreme Court has never overturned itself lightly because its justices understand that the court would lose credibility. To safeguard their civil liberties, Americans must be aware not only of major court decisions, but also of seemingly minor abortion laws and court rulings.
Alex Thornton
Civil engineering sophomore