Studies show Americans do not understand Roe v. Wade
Studies show Americans do not understand Roe v. Wade or what it means if it's overturned. so we asked a Constitutional Attorney.
There is only one God who has chosen to reveal Himself to us through the Godhead which consists of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit We believe in one God, eternally existing in three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit who know, love, and glorify one another. Each person has precisely the same nature and attributes and is worthy of precisely the same worship, honor, and praise. This one true and living God is infinitely perfect both in his love and in his holiness. He is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible. Immortal and eternal, he perfectly and exhaustively knows the end from the beginning. He sovereignly rules over all things and is providentially at work redeeming and restoring His fallen creation. (2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:19; Psalm 24:1)
A Controversial Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a controversial ruling in the 1965 case of Griswold v. Connecticut which referenced an 1879 Connecticut law that outlawed contraception in the state. However, Planned Parenthood opened a clinic offering contraception with the express purpose of challenging the law. The Court eventually ruled 7-2 in the case stating that the law was unconstitutional citing the right of “marital privacy”.
The two dissenting Justices agreed with the majority that the law was “silly” but that the Constitution did not give the Court any right to overrule it. While law professors around the nation agreed with the result of the decision, its logic was ridiculed.
Justice William Douglas penned the majority decision arguing that while a right to privacy was not expressly contained in the language of the Constitution, the rights within the document exuded “penumbras” that establish such a right. The case wasn’t given much thought outside of law school classes until it was used as the foundation of Roe v. Wade.
The Bombshell That is Roe v. Wade
While Griswold created few ripples in American culture, Roe was a bombshell! Once again, a 7-2 majority ruled. Justice Harry Blackmun wrote the majority decision. He contended “the right to privacy” established by Griswold restricted the state’s authority to restrict abortion. Blackmun admitted that abortion could be limited because of the state’s interest in the “potentiality of life” but could not be outlawed.
The minority dissent argued, among other things, that, once again, the Court had no right to even rule on the case. Law school professors also ridiculed the reasoning of Roe but largely applauded its decision. Roe was upheld in 1992 by Planned Parenthood v Casey. Yet, a recently leaked draft of the opinion in the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization signals that the Supreme Court may be willing to overturn Roe by a 5-4 (or possibly 5-3-1) vote.
Aside from the unprecedented nature of the leak of the draft, the following questions have arisen within and outside of the church:
What happens if Roe is overturned?
How can the Supreme Court overturn a previous ruling?
What are the implications for other cases that cite Griswold as precedent?
We shall address these queries in Part 2.
