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Pro-Life Updates
Judge Alito has written or said very little on abortion and other right-to-life issues. President Bush introduced him as having “a deep understanding of the proper role of judges in our society” and that “he understands that judges are to interpret the laws, not to impose their preferences or priorities on the people.” Judge Alito, in response, stated that “Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to do these things with care and with restraint, always keeping in mind the limited role that he courts play in our constitutional system.” Judge Alito has ruled over four principle abortion-related cases. He voted to uphold the Pro-Life 1989 Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, which stated that informed consent and other abortion regulatory provisions were constitutional. Judge Alito also opined that the spouse should be notified when a woman is seeking to abort his child; the woman did not have to gain the permission of the spouse, simply notify him. However, the US Supreme Court ruled that spousal notification was unconstitutional. In two other cases involving Pro-Life rulings, Judge Alito was bound by the controlling Supreme Court precedent (one involving a partial-birth abortion statute and the other concerning the personhood of the unborn child). Lower courts rarely, if ever, overturn or contradict a ruling from the US Supreme Court. A third case in which Judge Alito ruled involved reporting requirements for abortions resulting from rape and incest and paid for by Medicaid. Although his ruling is regarded as opposed to the Pro-Life side, he based his vote on his reading of administrative law. These cases show only that Judge Alito knows how to apply precedent developed by the U.S. Supreme Court; they do not tell us how he would vote on reversals of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. He seems to have the right philosophy about the role of judges, but we must encourage our senators to probe whether he would preserve Roe and Doe as a standing precedent. U.S. Abortion Law Roe v. Wade overturned all state laws banning abortion. The Supreme Court contrived a constitutional right to abortion based on a nebulous right to personal privacy (although such right to privacy is never explicitly mentioned in the Constitution). Roe v. Wade also robbed the unborn baby of personhood by arbitrarily determining that a fetus is not a person but a “potential life” and does not have a constitutional right of his/her own. Doe v. Bolton catastrophically modified Roe v. Wade by ruling that the right to abortion could not be limited by the state if abortion was sought for maternal health reasons. The Court then defined health as “all factors—physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age—relevant to the well-being of the patient.” This health exception expanded the right to abortion throughout the entire pregnancy for any reason, thereby striking down the few legal protections left in place by Roe. (For more information on U.S. Abortion Law, visit www.TexasRightToLife.com.) President Carter Condemns Abortion This November, however, President Carter expressed his abhorrence to abortion. "I never have felt that any abortion should be committed—I think each abortion is the result of a series of errors," he told reporters. "I've never been convinced, if you let me inject my Christianity into it, that Jesus Christ would approve abortion." The current Democratic Party holds such a strong pro-abortion stance that politicians like Jimmy Carter would no longer be welcome. Even Pro-Life Democrat Governor Casey of Pennsylvania was cancelled as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention one year due to his Pro-Life views and leadership. We need to support more Pro-Life democrats so that they can be a voice for Life within their party and help to defeat the Culture of Death. The Pro-Life movement still has much work to ensure that all people throughout the world are welcomed into Life and respected. If you would like any additional information on the topics discussed above, please send me a note or log onto www.TexasRightToLife.com. If you ever have questions about any Pro-Life issues, please be sure to let me know.
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