Gonzalez v Carhart will go down in history as the decision that finally made a downpayment on the Religious Right's political activism. but it could be very costly to the Republicans (I hope so).
Essentially, what the decision says is that women don't count; they are vessels for "unborn life," and therefore men and law courts will decide if they have to bear a child, or possibly die trying.
The big question is: will progressives rally against this retrograde decision, and will outraged women become an even greater political force than the religious right?
Again, I'm hoping. Of course it may take the overthrow of Roe v Wade before women really wake up and realize: it's the REAL invasion of the body-snatchers.
After all, if women are relegated to being fertility vessels--with abortion outlawed and contraception more and more restricted and difficult to obtain (another priority of the "pro-life" forces), then the whole thrust of women in the work-force, holding down careers, being independent people will be threatened. Will young, up-to-now apolitical women remain on the sidelines? I doubt it.
Ironic, isn't it, that the supposedly "libertarian" conservatives are behind this decision, which shoves Government/the courts into the bedroom and the operating room. Noninterventionist government, indeed!
I really don't believe that the Court can reverse 34 years of women's liberation without an explosion.
What do you think?
See my other comment on