Apparently the history of Roe v Wade has entered the SCOTUS debate regarding the upcoming DOMA and Same Sex Marriage arguments. I was surprised to learn of this.
Read Roe v. Wade looms over gay marriage cases
I was also surprised to find this quote from my favorite Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I missed this last year:
It’s not that the judgment was wrong, but it moved too far, too fast,” she said last year at Columbia Law School.
From the New York Times:
Briefs from opponents of same-sex marriage, including one from 17 states, are studded with references to the aftermath of the abortion decision and to Justice Ginsburg’s critiques of it. They say the lesson from the Roe decision is that states should be allowed to work out delicate matters like abortion and same-sex marriage for themselves.
How will this bode for Same Sex Marriage?
Ginsburg has suggested that the Supreme Court in 1973 should have struck down only the restrictive Texas abortion law before it and left broader questions for another day. The analogous approach four decades later would be to strike down California’s ban on same-sex marriage but leave in place prohibitions in about 40 other states.
Could Roe v Wade be open again and defeated?
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on two cases that address same-sex marriage: The constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8.
I heard on NPR this morning that the hearings will be broadcast. I can't find the SCOTUS link for real time broadcasting. However, this site provides links to public for audio of SCOTUS arguments:
The audio recordings of all oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court of the United States are available to the public at the end of each argument week. The audio recordings are posted on Fridays after Conference.
The public may either download the audio files or listen to the recordings on the Court’s Web site. The audio recordings are listed by case name, docket number, and the date of oral argument.
The Court began audio recording oral arguments in 1955. The recordings are maintained at The National Archives and Records Administration. Prior to the 2010 Term, the recordings from one Term of Court were not available until the beginning of the next Term. The Archives will continue to serve as the official repository for the Court’s audio recordings.
It appears SCOTUS will expedite the audio for the two cases:
For Immediate Release
For Further Information Contact: March 19, 2013
The Court will provide the audio recordings and transcripts of the oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry, scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, March 26, and United States v. Windsor, scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, March 27, on an expedited basis through the Court's Website.
The Court will post the audio recordings and unofficial transcripts as soon as the digital files are available for uploading to the Website. The audio recordings and transcripts should be available no later than 1 p.m. on March 26 and no later than 2 p.m. on March 27.
Anyone interested in the proceedings will be able to access the recordings and transcripts directly through links on the homepage of the Court's Website. The homepage currently provides links to the orders, briefs, and other information about the cases. The Court's Website address is www.supremecourt.gov.
Also, from the SCOTUS website:
Argument preview: Marriage and the Court’s “friends” — Part I
There is no mention of Roe v Wade in this preview.
Here's the SCOTUS Schedule
Marriage arguments March 26-27