TWENTY-TWO OF THE MANY: ROE V WADE (1973)
This past January 22, 2013 marked the 40th anniversary of the “decided rulings” under Roe v. Wade, 410
U.S. 113 (1973) of the Warren E. Burger high court.
Warren Earl Burger (1907-1995) was the 15th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from
1969-1986. In the context of Constitutional interpretation, he was considered an advocate of the legal
principal of “originalism” (i.e. to discover the original meaning or intent of the Constitution).
“Originalism” is based upon the notion that the judiciary is not “supposed to create, amend or repeal
laws”, but only to uphold them. This concept is a corollary of the principle of “textualism” (i.e. a
“statute’s ordinary meaning should govern its interpretation”).
Thus, the “originalists” view the U.S. Constitution as a “non-organic” or non-dynamic document.
The alternative concept to “originalism” is the “Living Constitution.” It is based upon the notion that the
judiciary is supposed to do more than simple uphold the original intent and/or the original meaning of
the Constitution.
Thus, the “living constitutionalists” see the U.S. Constitution as an “organic” or dynamic document.
Obviously, both viewpoints together would be better than both viewpoints alone. The “Framers” of the
U.S. Constitution structured their document to do both: that is, the original document (as written which
included the “Bill of Rights”: the first “Ten Amendments”) and an “amendment process mechanism.”
To date, this “amendment process mechanism” has generated an additional 17 “clarifications and/or
corrections and/or additions” to the U.S. Constitution. And, this mechanism will allow for a future
“correction”: the 28th Amendment.
Nota bene: The Roberts court’s ruling (of 5-4) in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558
U.S. 310 (2010), was an “oligarchic” decision to undermine the “American representative democracy” by
declaring that a legal entity such as a mega-corporation has the same “right” to contribute “unlimited”
funds to American election candidates as living American citizens.
Apparently, Roberts (along with his gang of “originalists”: Alito, Kennedy, Scalia, and Thomas) has
forgotten that the principal purpose of the high court is to serve all Americans, not just the privileged
few and their non-living, mega-corporations. This entire “Gang of Five” should be impeached for its
“judiciary inappropriateness” which is directed by the American few and their “mega-corporations.”
To re-focus, the Chief Justice Burger high court consisted (along with Burger) of the following, eight,
knowledgeable, mostly moderate “Associate Justices”: William O. Douglas (1898-1980), William J.
Brennan, Jr. (1906-1997), Potter Steward (1915-1985), Byron Raymond White (1917-2002), Thurgood
Marshall (1908-1993), Harold Andrew Blackmun (1908-1999), Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. (1907-1998),
and, William Hubbs Rehnquist (1924-2005).
The Burger court ruled 7 to 2 that the right to privacy under the due process clause of the 14th
Amendment extended to a woman’s decision to have an “abortion” and “that this right must be
balanced against the state’s two legitimate interests in regulating abortions.” And, these two
“legitimate interests” were identified as being the protection of “prenatal life” and the protection of a
“women’s health.”
In addition, the William H. Rehnquist high court in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v
Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992) ruled that the individual had the right to abort her pregnancy until the point
of “viability” (i.e. the ability of the unborn child to live outside the mother’s womb with artificial aid).
Thus, the time standard for “abortion” was arbitrarily set between 24 and 28 weeks (instead at the
original trimester standard of Roe).
(Although “reproductive crimes” [or less precisely, “abortion crimes”] do not have their “roots in the
English common-law tradition”, in the United States, 45 states [i.e. the number of states at this point in
time] had some form of “abortion” legislation by the year 1900.
And, the great state of CT has the “distinction” of enacting the first statue criminalizing “abortion.”)
Norma Leah Nelson-McCorvey was the “Jane Roe” of Roe v. Wade. Although emotionally and physically
damaged (i.e. themes of “comorbidity”: childhood physical and sexual abuse, depression, the “psychosocial stressor” of an alcoholic, maternal parent, sexual addiction, and multiple pregnancies) due to her
abusive family history, she became the rallying figure of both the United States “pro-choice” (because of
the “choice” ruling of Roe) and the United States “pro-life” (because of her “change” of opinion after
Roe) movements of 1973 and thereafter.
(The labeling of “pro-choice”, “pro-life”, and “abortion” are examples of the propaganda technique of
“social framing.” That is, “social framing” refers to the attempt by an objective observer to create and
to control “a set of concepts and theoretical perspectives on how individuals, groups, and societies
organize, perceive, and communicate about objective reality”: thus, it is a purposeful “re-framing” of
objective reality for the sole benefit of an individual and/or a group of individuals.
Parenthetically, this “manipulative” game is mostly ineffective when the targeted groups are cognitively
and emotionally involved with the “content” of the issue that the objective observer is attempting to
perceptually change.
For example, the label of “pro-choice” is a positive naming, but it does not address the potential
extreme negative, both physically and psychologically, of terminating a pregnancy.
And, the label of “pro-life” is a righteous and a positive naming, but it does not address the fact that
“life” is not the issue. The issue is that a group of individuals are attempting to impose their antiquated,
social values upon those who reject their view of the universe [i.e. those of the majority].
When the members of the “pro-life” utilize the method of “murder to stop murder”, the absurdity of
their “social framing” becomes criminal.)
It should be noted that McCorvey (in 1995) became a supporter of the radical activities of the
murderous “Operation Rescue” and their covert campaign (i.e. “murder to stop murder”) to make
“reproductive services” illegal for women everywhere (yet again).
Henry Menasco “the Chief” Wade (1914-2001) was a Texas lawyer who was the named defendant (i.e. as
Dallas County District Attorney) when McCorvey mounted a 1970 constitutional challenge to the Texas
criminal statutes prohibiting licensed physicians from performing reproductive services (i.e.
“abortions”).
The Roe ruling represented “the Chief’s” first loss in his legal career. Despite this loss, his political and
legal career did not suffer because those who would impose their social value on others mostly blamed
the “liberal” Burger court.
“The Chief” died of Parkinson’s disease on March I, 2001 at the age of 86 in Dallas, Texas: and, it is
rumored (by the American many) that “the Chief” is definitely not dwelling in his Christian “Haven.”
The United States “pro-life” (p-l) movement (or “right to life” or “culture of life”) is a political and a
social endeavor opposing on moral and/or on sectarian and/or on economic bases all “elective”
terminations of pregnancies. The movement usually supports a legal prohibition or restriction of a
woman’s “reproductive rights” regardless of the consequences to the health of a woman.
The p-l movement includes a variety of organizations with no apparent centralized decision-making
body. And, it offers a variety of arguments and rationales, often deadly contradictory, for the imposition
of its social values upon American and international societies.
The Roe ruling was considered a major setback for the p-l movement. The ruling’s overturning of most
“anti-abortion” laws greatly intensified a largely religious-based (e.g. conservative Roman Catholic and
conservative Protestant evangelicals), attempts at undermining or disobeying the law by any means
possible: these actions included other violations of the constitutional rights of American citizens which
sometimes involved the murder of “reproductive service providers and/or the destruction of their
property” with the passive or active approval of state and city governments.
The murder of George Richard Tiller (1941-2009), an American physician from Wichita, Kansas, by the
extremist, “anti-abortion” activist, Scott Roeder, would be an example of a “co-operative effort” among
p-l forces: that is, the Kansas State Legislature (with its specific “legislative targeting”), the Kansas
Attorney General (with his selective legal applications), the City of Wichita, “Operation Rescue of
Kansas”, and the national media with their biases reporting (e.g. “The O’Reilly Factor”) to “neutralize”
this one “reproductive service provider” in their great state.
The continuing, inherent contradiction of utilizing murder to stop “reproductive service providers” is lost
on these extremists, especially on the extremists of the p-l movement “crazies” of Kansas and on the
egocentric, alcoholic, “blood-drinking” William James “the Bully” O’Reilly.
And, the American many often wonder if “the Bully” can drink enough alcohol in order to help him forget
his evil actions against the innocent and helpless Dr. George Richard Tiller.
The United States pro-choice (p-c) movement is the obverse of the p-l movement: thus, a woman, in
this view, has the legal right to choose an elective “abortion” independent of imposed moral and legal
standards of others.
The p-c movement includes a variety of organizations (e.g. the International Planned Parenthood
Federation [IPPF], Planned Parenthood Federation of America [PPFA], NARAL Pro-Choice America, the
National Organization for Women, and the American Civil Liberties Union) with no single centralized
decision- making body. As with the p-l movement, there are diverse arguments and rationales for a
woman’s right to choose to end her pregnancy.
The Roe ruling was considered a major “victory” for the p-c movement.
In summary, Roe negated many of the state and federal laws, which were “morally” and/or socially
based, that were preventing choices to end pregnancies by criminalizing “reproductive services” for
women.
Although the “national debate” continues to the present day, the majority (54% of those polled in
November of 2012) of Americans support the notion that a woman has the ethical, the moral, and the
legal right to choose, independent of the state and independent of the religious beliefs and gender
biases of others, to end or to not end, her pregnancy.
And, it is projected (i.e. by a number of statisticians and social psychologists) that the American many
will increasingly and aggressively support a woman’s right to choose as well as her right to access the
“reproductive services” she requires.
Be Warned: The religious organizations and the state legislatures (and their associated “crazies”) who
decide to continually and to blatantly circumvent the Constitutional rights of women will earn the lasting
“contempt and disfavor” of the American many (both of its women and of its men), for at least another
40 years.
Post Script:
Along with the living “Medal of Honor” recipients Salvatore Augustine “Sal” Giunta (Afghanistan War),
Leroy Arthur Petry (Afghanistan War), Dakota L. Meyer (Afghanistan War), epluribusunumxiii.net wishes
to salute and honor yet another living “Medal of Honor” recipient, Clinton Lovar “Ro” Romesha.
“Ro” received his award on February 11, 2013 from President Barack H. Obama (2009-present).
And, “Ro” is the eleventh “Medal of Honor” recipient in the global “War on Terrorism.”
(The “War on Terrorism” [2001-present] is an international military campaign to eliminate “al-Qaeda
and other militant organizations” throughout the world. It is a multi-nation effort to stop and/or to
contain armed, radical Islamic groups from gaining territory, resources, and political power.
This international military campaign is lead, directly and/or indirectly, by the United States of America
who is also targeting some of the terror groups’ sponsoring nations [i.e. Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan].
In referring to this international military campaign, the Obama Administration often uses the
euphemism of the “Overseas Contingency Operation.”)
Remember: Hillary45
To hell with the “oligarchs” (the American few, the Roman Catholic Church, some Protestant Churches,
and the radical leadership of Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan) and their “familiars” (the “War on
Terrorism”, the U.S. Congress then and now, McCorvey, “the Chief”, the Roberts high court, “Operation
Rescue” and the like, Roeder, the state of Kansas, the Kansas legislature, the Kansas Attorney General,
the city of Wichita, “Bloody Mary” Bill O’Reilly, and all extremist organizations, to the right or to the left,
who willfully and purposely murder others in the name of their religions and/or in the name of their
nations and/or in the name of whatever),
Fromoneofthemany