Appendices: Constitutionalism, Nationalism & the Dismantling of Democracy, Part Four.

Appendices in respect of the overturning of Roe and Casey, as referenced in the accompanying essay in this series. In Appendix A. I look briefly at the moral concerns, & in Appendix B. I take a more detailed look at the legal arguments.

Black screens surrounded the Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2021 to hide the identities of women seeking abortions. The clinic’s battle with the State of Mississippi led to Roe’s undoing.Credit. Image from NYT by Rory Doyle/Reuters.

‘The interests of the mother and the fetus are opposed. On which side should the State throw its weight? The issue is volatile; and it is resolved by the moral code which an individual has.’

The Wages of Crying Wolf: A Comment on Roe v. Wade; John Hart Ely (1973).

Appendix A. The Moral Case

In relation to Part Four.

As Ely says in the quote above, legally, the interests of a pregnant mother to be, and the fetus she carries, are in direct opposition in respect to questions of abortion. The issue is volatile to be sure, but it is no longer resolved by an individuals moral code, and in fairness, I don’t feel this was hardly ever the case anyway. Since more than 60% of abortions performed in the U.S. prior to the overturning of Roe were on women who already had one or more children, it is safe to…