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Abortion is the law of the land
by Robert Davis The News Record Staff Reporter

There's that question again. "How do you feel about abortion?" The question that has led to the rising of more blood pressures, more voices, and more PAC money than any other simply refuses to go away. The question that of which it has been said may very well lead to the second Civil War in America is all-pervasive, tenacious, and in the final analysis, no one's business but a womans'[sic], her doctor's, and her God's. You heard me right. Pro-lifers, NARAL groupies, and those who aren't sure, everyone step back for a few minutes, and take a good hard look at the issue at its core.

America is, last time I checked, a nation of laws. Everyone (although sadly this is not the case) should know their Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the symbiotic relationship the Supreme Court has in our nation.

The pro-lifers say that there is no constitutional guarantee of abortion rights in the document. This is inarguable and true. However, the 1803 Marbury v Madison case in the Supreme Court established the Supreme Court's right to judicial review of legislation, and for good or ill, opened up the Supreme Court not only as an interpreter of law, but in the final analysis, a maker of laws as well.

You can argue strict interpretation of the Constitution or the constructionalist model of constitutional law all day, but the fact of the matter is that America is a nation of laws, and sometime you will get a Supreme Court made up constitutional constructionalists, who see things in the document that had never been there before, and as such will make law based upon their decisions.

This is the case with the 1973 Roe v Wade decision on abortion. A constructionalist Supreme Court wrote that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion under certain restrictions. There, pure and simple. Abortion is the law of the land! Now, the pro-lifers have avenues of appeal, shall we say. They can get individual state laws changed, they can lobby Congress, and the can even picket, as long as they stay within a certain distance of their targets, as designated by various court orders. What pro-lifers CANNOT do is advocate, carry out illegal fie bombings of property, nor commit murder or attempted murder upon those who perform abortions. That is NOT the law of the land! America must never allow mob rule or hysterics to pervert the rule of law. Abortion, in the final analysis, is a matter between a woman, her doctor, and her God. Its legitimacy in the realm of American law is confirmed, although not permanent.

Another court may come along and overturn Roe; this would be tragic, but in that case those who advocate abortion would have to accept the ruling, and live by the rule of law.

Ironically, in the past few years, the pro-lifers have advocated, planned, and carried out more violence and actually killed more people in the name of what they believe than the abortionists! Step back and think about that.

Taken from The University of Cincinnati Student Newspaper The News Record December 3, 1997.

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