The Supreme Court’s apparent decision to send the abortion issue back to the states may be a triumph for federalism and the concept of the separation of powers, but it is also a recipe for unyielding division. Abortion politics will become even more of a litmus test for tens of millions of pro-choice and pro-life voters at the local, state, and federal levels because their legislators will have far more power to shape policy. This, in turn, will further polarize our politics and empower the extremes because many voters will likely back candidates no matter their position on schools, crime, housing, jobs and debt, so long as they are the right kind of “pro.”
The abortion wars will continue because Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion essentially undoing Roe v. Wade settles nothing. Allowing the states to decide to regulate the medical procedure does not address the central issue: Is it permissible to intentionally take an innocent life? Although abortion rights activists are angry about the Court’s expected decision, it appears to give them a major victory by permitting the practice. It will do nothing to assuage those who oppose it.
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