Why Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hates Roe v. Wade

[Tx4obama]

Why Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hates Roe v. Wade

Close observers of the legal war over abortion are familiar with the story: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the leader of the Supreme Court's liberal wing, is a passionate critic of Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that turned 41 on Wednesday.

It's not that she opposes the holding that recognizes a right to an abortion. It's that she opposes the logic of the 1973 court's majority opinion and the constitutional basis under which seven justices arrived at their conclusion.

"Roe isn't really about the woman's choice, is it?" the Clinton-appointed justice said last May at the University of Chicago Law School. "It's about the doctor's freedom to practice ... it wasn't woman-centered, it was physician-centered."

Her pique is that the Roe opinion, written by Justice Harry Blackmun, relies on a "right of privacy" under the 4th Amendment and emphasizes the right of physicians to practice medicine as they see fit. She prefers that abortion rights be recognized under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, based on the view that having a child should be a woman's choice.

-snip-

Full article here: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/ruth-bader-ginsburg-roe-wade

[ejpoeta]

1. I knew it was about privacy, but thought it was the woman's privacy...

I guess it makes sense that it would be about the doctor because us women can't think for ourselves. She is right. It should be about a woman's right to make her own decisions.

[BlueMTexpat]

2. I also believe that the 14th Amendment argument is

the correct one.

Sandra Day O'Connor also believes that. Had she been on the Court when Roe v. Wade was decided, we would likely have had a very different history since. See, e.g., http://www.salon.com/2013/09/16/ruth_bader_ginsburg_sandra_day_oconnor_may_have_changed_the_shape_of_roe_v_wade/

[Doctor_J]

3. I LIKE that part about it. It makes it gender neutral. In fact, I think our pro-choice pols

make a mistake discussing it in terms of reproductive choice. it should be about the government staying out of the doctor's examination room, period.

[MicaelS]

4. I like Ginsburg's thinking.

I have always thought the right of a woman's reproduction being based on "privacy" was weak.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Well, shouldn't it be about BOTH ??

With the woman's right preeminent, of course.