Arizona’s Arbitrary Abortion Ban Thwarted
By As I always say when this Supreme Court declines to hear an appeal to a favorable abortion ruling, this is excellent news:
The Supreme Court has declined to take up the state of Arizona’s ban on abortion at 20 weeks, continuing a recent streak of reluctance to revisit the core of the abortion issue.
That’s good news for pro-choice advocates, who had successfully argued at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the law violated the standard set by Roe v. Wade by banning abortion well before viability. Attorneys for abortion providers had told the court the appeals court decision “faithfully follows this Court’s precedents, is in conflict with the decision of no other court, and thus merits no further review.” They added, “Two generations of American women and families have come of age, depending on constitutional protection for their reproductive decisions.”
The Court’s choice to let that decision stand means that Arizona’s ban, which drew the line two weeks earlier than other states with such bans did, won’t be enforced, nor will a similar one in Idaho, which also falls in the Ninth Circuit.
The 20-week bans are particularly dangerous, since bans on pre-viability abortion are one of the few things that Casey clearly forbids. I’d just as soon not have Anthony “No reliable data” Kennedy be put in a position to decide if he wants to water ‘er down some more be given the chance to make things worse.