For those who believe Roe v. Wade is safe, you ought to read Kennedy's

[Czolgosz]

dissenting opinion in Stenberg v. Carhart before you count on him upholding reproductive freedoms: <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-830.ZD2.html>

For those unfamiliar with the Stenberg case, the dispute involved Nebraska's outlawing ALL dilation and extraction procedures after the 12TH WEEK WITHOUT ANY EXCEPTION FOR THE MOTHER'S HEALTH, SAFETY, OR RISK OF DEATH. A 5-4 court (with O'Connor in the majority) rejected the restriction because it made no exceptions for threats to the mother's health or life. In contrast, Kennedy wrote that states have a "right to declare a moral difference between" different medical procedures including those which a doctor believes are medically necessary to save a woman's life because "the views of a single physician or a group of physicians regarding the relative safety of a particular procedure" don't trump the legislative desire to outlaw specific medical procedures they dislike.

For those of you who have not read Roe v. Wade, Kennedy's dissent in Stenberg is fairly inconsistent with the Roe decision.



If this is news to you, please kick it for others to read.