The potential overturning of Roe v. Wade has far more implications beyond the obvious, direct, result. First Roe v. Wade is considered a landmark ruling because it solidifies the idea that American citizens have what is called a “Right To Privacy”. This is hugely important because many of the laws that we follow in this country are not legislated through Congress, but through what is called precedent. That means that a lawyer has to look through previous cases where circumstances were similar and find rulings where the judge ruled in a way that aligned with any cases they are presenting and to use those previous rulings to justify the validity of their claim. This allows for a lot of room for interpretation and as a result many of the laws we follow as a society are not exactly concrete. For instance, going back to the Right To Privacy, this right is not codified in the Constitution, it is implied through precedent.
As the news of the Supreme Court's leaked decision regarding overturning Roe v. Wade continues to dominate the news cycles, as well as our various social medias, I have to ask; why is this even up for debate? I fully understand the severity of it, in fact more than many as I understand the greater ramifications as well, but in the end how did it even get this far? What rights do the federal and state governments of our nation have to rule on, or legislate, abortion? I could understand if we were speaking of how it is funded or how it is carried out with a view on safety or malpractice, but when it comes to the right to make decisions on whether abortion is legal or not and to punish those found to be in violation of these decisions there is no right that exists.
The potential overturning of Roe v. Wade has far more implications beyond the obvious, direct, result. First Roe v. Wade is considered a landmark ruling because it solidifies the idea that American citizens have what is called a “Right To Privacy”. This is hugely important because many of the laws that we follow in this country are not legislated through Congress, but through what is called precedent. That means that a lawyer has to look through previous cases where circumstances were similar and find rulings where the judge ruled in a way that aligned with any cases they are presenting and to use those previous rulings to justify the validity of their claim. This allows for a lot of room for interpretation and as a result many of the laws we follow as a society are not exactly concrete. For instance, going back to the Right To Privacy, this right is not codified in the Constitution, it is implied through precedent.
As the news of the Supreme Court's leaked decision regarding overturning Roe v. Wade continues to dominate the news cycles, as well as our various social medias, I have to ask; why is this even up for debate? I fully understand the severity of it, in fact more than many as I understand the greater ramifications as well, but in the end how did it even get this far? What rights do the federal and state governments of our nation have to rule on, or legislate, abortion? I could understand if we were speaking of how it is funded or how it is carried out with a view on safety or malpractice, but when it comes to the right to make decisions on whether abortion is legal or not and to punish those found to be in violation of these decisions there is no right that exists.
