Pro-abortion politicians are again threatening to pack the Supreme Court of the United States, as state legislatures across the country continue to introduce and pass pro-life legislation and the court recently picked up Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said, “It will inevitably fuel and drive an effort to expand the Supreme Court if this activist majority betrays fundamental constitutional principles.
“It’s already driving that movement.”
To alleviate some concerns, Blumenthal did admit that this wouldn’t happen immediately, but any challenge to Roe would add fuel to the fire.
“Chipping away at Roe v. Wade will precipitate a seismic movement to reform the Supreme Court,” he said. “It may not be expanding the Supreme Court, it may be making changes to its jurisdiction, or requiring a certain number of votes to strike down certain past precedents.”
Though pro-abortion politicians are frustrated with the growing pro-life movement, that’s not a reason to pack the court so that things can go their way. In fact, to a certain extent, it undermines the very foundations of our country’s democracy.
The reason why so many states are passing pro-life bills is that many throughout this country are strong in their belief that abortion is immoral, and that the government should do all it can to protect the lives of preborn babies.
This is demonstrated in the over 500 new pro-life bills introduced and the 60 that have been passed just this year.
The pro-life movement isn’t content to sit back and watch as pro-abortion activists rule the country, which includes allowing abortion up until the moment of birth, but instead introduce bills at the state level that do what they can to protect preborn babies. Through this effort, many states face extensive and expensive litigation from pro-abortion groups, like Planned Parenthood and NARAL.
And the public remains deeply divided on the issue of abortion, despite what politicians say.
Pew Research Center reports that 28% of the U.S. public wants to overturn Roe v. Wade, but 70% remain in favor of the court decision. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is generally broad support for abortion.
Another more recent Pew poll shows that only 59% of Americans want abortion to remain legal in all or most cases, while 39% want it to become illegal in all or most cases.
When it comes to whether people feel like they are pro-life or pro-choice, Gallup reports that 46% of Americans claim they are pro-life while 48% consider themselves pro-choice. This divide has been consistent for years and only changes a few points between the two sides.
On the issue of Roe, the pollsters didn’t find as much support as Pew did, with 60% uncomfortable with overturning the decision while 33% were in favor of it. About 7% didn’t have an opinion.
What pro-abortion politicians are suggesting is a risky game. Packing the Supreme Court of the United States to regain control will damage the delicate system of checks and balances created by our forefathers and continue to escalate the partisan divide between the two sides.
Photo from EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS
