Ross Douthat (or, as I’ve nicknamed him, “he who should be read every Tuesday”) has a very good column about the politics of abortion in the wake of Tiller’s murder. The judicial fiat of Roe v. Wade is far and away the largest impediment to compromise and thus significant improvement in the climate of this most contentious of issues. Democratic debate and negotiation dampens extremism and facilitates discussion among people unlikely to ever agree. Yet by inventing a constitutional “right” out of thin air, the Supreme Court has perpetuated exactly the opposite. This is not to suggest the justices are more responsible for the many tragedies and unspeakably evil acts that occur than their direct participants. It is to state, rather, that this overreach has produced a landscape that disallows U.S. citizens to take the same reasonable actions for or against restrictions of almost every other advanced democracy. And it is in such a landscape that extremists like Tiller and his killer find more room to operate.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In