What Can We Learn from US Supreme Court History? The US Supreme Court has had some horrifying decisions throughout its history. Among the most prominent: Dred Scott v Sandford (enslaved people were still enslaved even when moved to a free state), Plessy v. Ferguson (“separate but equal” racial segregation), Buck v. Bell (involuntary sterilization) and of course the companion cases of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton. The first was overturned by constitutional amendment, the second by the Court itself decades later, and the third was never overturned but is widely regarded as an embarrassment by those who know about it. What lessons can we draw from knowing about these cases, what their consequences were, and how they’ve been dealt with? Rachel MacNair considers Our Experience with Overturning Terrible Court Decisions.
Top: Dred Scott and Harriet Robinson Scott, Homer Plessy Middle: Carrie Buck and her mother Emma Buck, Carrie’s daughter Vivian Bottom: “Jane Roe” – Norma McCorvey and “Mary Doe” – Sandra Cano
Petition Reminder We’re getting marvelous comments on our Petition to the Media. For example, Dianna Lara says, “I'm signing because I believe the diversity of the pro-life movement needs to be acknowledged in the media. I am a black, pro-life millennial feminist, and I know there are many others just like me, but I rarely if ever see my perspective acknowledged in the media. Instead, the media mostly portrays the pro-life movement as a out-of-date, out - of - touch group of old white grumpy men. This could not be farther from the reality.” Remember to sign, and get your friends to sign.
We Need Quotations!
Please remember to send in all kinds of items to share, but our quotation bank is running a little low, so we’d be especially pleased for people to send in their favorite consistent-life quotations for future use. This can include quotations from people who actually favor different forms of violence, but link them with how they reason about them – “seamless shroud.” They can be either current or historical. Send to weekly@consistent-life.org.
Quotation of the Week Rosemary Bottcher “Free Choice Can Cost Others” Originally in the Tallahassee Democrat, August 8 1982 Republished in ProLife Feminism:Yesterday & Today (2005). The word “choice” has become a magical incantation; breathe it into a liberal ear and the liberal mind becomes hypnotized. The well-meaning eagerness to be tolerant and open-minded disintegrates into moral paralysis. Aficionados of handguns, nuclear weapons, drunken driving or baby seal bashing could probably quash liberal opposition to their causes by patiently explaining their positions in terms of “pro-choice.”
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