Earlier this week, yet another Supreme Court draft was mistakenly leaked.
The ruling turned out to be very close to the draft that was leaked, with only a few changes, which will keep the emergency exceptions in place in the Idaho abortion case.
Talking Points…
- The Supreme Court ruling
- How does this help Trump?
- Analysis
The big conundrum for abortion legislation on the conservative side of the aisle has always been whether to keep exceptions in place. Extreme pro-lifers believe there should be no exceptions, but that is not generally the pulse of the nation. Polling has consistently shown that most Americans support abortion with terms and exceptions for rape, incest, and the health of the mother.
The case, Moyle v. U.S. and Idaho v. U.S., has garnered national attention due to the fact it is putting those exceptions to the test. The court, at least for now, will keep those exceptions in place. The matter will continue to be litigated in the lower courts, and it will surely wind up before the court again, as this was to vacate stays that had been granted in court earlier this year.
Once again, Trump-appointed Justices Kavanaugh and Barrett joined Chief Justice Roberts in the majority, with Justices Alito and Thomas calling the decision "baffling." Alito wrote:
"Recognizing the flaws in the Government's theory and Idaho's 'strong' likelihood of success, this Court stayed the preliminary injunction pending appeal on January 5. And, wisely or not, the Court also took the unusual step of granting certiorari before Idaho's appeal was heard by the Ninth Circuit. Now, the Court dismisses the writ and, what is worse, vacates the stay.
"This about-face is baffling," he continued. "Nothing legally relevant has occurred since January 5. And the underlying issue in this case — whether EMTALA requires hospitals to perform abortions in some circumstances — is a straightforward question of statutory interpretation. It is squarely presented by the decision below, and it has been exhaustively briefed and argued."
Alito continued:
"Altogether, we have more than 1,300 pages of briefing to assist us, and we heard nearly two hours of argument.
"Everything there is to say about the statutory interpretation question has probably been said many times over. That question is as ripe for decision as it ever will be. Apparently, the Court has simply lost the will to decide the easy but emotional and highly politicized question that the case presents. That is regrettable."
The decision itself came down before the debate last night, and it did give Donald Trump some ammunition to use. Democrats have every intention of bringing Roe v. Wade back to the forefront of this election, but Trump shut down that narrative as best he could.
Trump even referred to the decision on the debate stage, saying that while Democrats paint him as an extremist on abortion, that has never been his stance, and it still is not his stance. Trump is fine with states deciding this matter, but if it ever came to federal law, he has made it pretty clear that he would not sign extreme legislation but would probably consider something that was at 15 weeks or more as long as it continued to have exceptions for the mother. This was a crushing blow to the narrative that Biden was trying to push during the debate, and it was a clear win for Trump.
I know this is not the final decision for this case, but the eventual outcome seems imminent, and the protections will remain in place. The exceptions, to me, are a no-brainer, but I do realize that not everyone sees it that way. However, I am looking at this from a national perspective and as a possible way to get federal legislation passed that will take this issue off the board for Democrats to use in elections.
This issue has cost Republicans in every election since 2016, which Trump even hinted at during the debate last night. Having a stance is great, but if you cannot get elected or hold office, that stance will turn the power over to Democrats, as it has for most of the last decade. To put this issue to bed, we have to find a middle point that both sides are not necessarily happy with but that they can live with.
