Religion

PBA ruling: the Political Dimension

Over at SCOTUSblog, my colleague Teresa Stanton Collett comments on the still-unresolved issue of the proper standard of review for facial challenges to abortion statutes.  At Balkinization, Marty Lederman criticizes as paternalistic the "protect women" rationale employed by the majority in Gonzales v. Carhart.  (I'm curious whether all pro-lifers embrace this aspect of the ruling or fear that it dilutes the sanctity of life as the overriding rationale of the movement.)

On the political front, I wonder whether the Democratic presidential candidates would have toned down their condemnation of Gonzales v. Carhart if the ruling had been issued after the primaries.  Given that PBA bans enjoy broad public support (see table 4) and seem to occupy the long sought-after "middle ground" of the abortion wars, I would have hoped that Obama, Clinton, and Edwards would not have been so quick to apply such apocalyptic rhetoric to the ruling.  At the very least, is it too much to expect our legislative leaders not to condemn rulings upholding a statute for which they voted?

From Mirror of Justice posted 2007-04-20.