Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Well, fuck.

From Bush v Choice:

1. As Deputy Solicitor General, Roberts argued in a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court (in a case that did not implicate Roe v. Wade) that "[w]e continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled." [T]he Court's conclusion in Roe that there is a fundamental right to an abortion "finds no support in the text, structure, or history of the Constitution."

2. In Rust v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court considered whether Department of Health and Human Services regulations limiting the ability of Title X recipients to engage in abortion-related activities violated various constitutional provisions. Roberts, appearing on behalf of HHS as Deputy Solicitor General, argued that this domestic gag rule did not violate constitutional protections.

3. Roberts, again as Deputy Solicitor General, filed a "friend of the court" brief for the United States supporting Operation Rescue and six other individuals who routinely blocked access to reproductive health care clinics, arguing that the protesters' behavior did not amount to discrimination against women even though only women could exercise the right to seek an abortion.


SCOTUS blog also has excellent background material. I have to say, though I think Christopher is right in his post below to remind us that this decision isn't all-encompassing, I'm scared. Though Roberts is relatively inexperienced as a judge, all signs point to his being another nail in the coffin of Roe v Wade if he is confirmed. And that is a very, very frightening state of affairs to contemplate. I really fucking hate being scared about this stuff. So I'm trying to get pissed, instead, as I find that a more productive state of mind. Bitch, PhD has posted some material that's helping. Here's a quote that will get you started:

Roberts co-authored the government's amicus brief in a private suit brought against Operation Rescue by an abortion clinic it had targeted. The brief argued that Operation Rescue was not engaged in a conspiracy to deprive women of equal protection. Roberts took this position in spite of Operation Rescue's admission that its goal was to prevent women from obtaining abortions and to shut down the clinic during its protests. Although the government's brief acknowledged that only women could become pregnant, it argued that conspiring to prevent people from seeking constitutionally-protected abortions did not constitute gender discrimination. It asserted that, at worst, Operation Rescue was discriminating against pregnant people, not women.

Yep. Them's fightin' words. Let's get started.